The Second Journey of the Universe Arcana
by Frostfire613
Summary: P3P x P4! Minako and Minato, given the chance to be released from the Great Seal, go to Inaba for one year to journey with their successor, Souji Seta. Will they succeed in helping the Investigation Team solve the Murders? Or will they fail? Starts off after Kanji is rescued. MinakoxMinato (Not Incest!) & SoujixNaoto. No Flames allowed please. Constructive criticism is welcomed!
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Everything was white, and there was nothing in this seemingly endless white plain. The only beings in this white plain were two people. One girl and one boy.

The girl had red eyes and auburn hair, which she always had in a single ponytail, along with barrettes which form the roman numerals XXII. Her complexion was slighter paler than the boy holding her. She had a slim yet well proportioned build.

The boy in question had dark blue hair that partially covered his right eye. His eyes were a grey- blue he looked to be much calmer than his female companion. He had a light yet slightly muscular build with lightly tanned skin.

These two were the leaders of SEES, they were best friends, they were each other's missing half, and they were lovers. These two are Minato Arisato and Minako Chitose.

**(A/N: I chose the last name 'Chitose' because it means to 'Ascend with the strength of a thousand' which I thought would suit her well given her Wild Card ability.)**

Minato and Minako were the two souls who made up the Great Seal that kept Erebus, the monstrous manifestation of mankind's grief and negative emotions who's sole purpose is to contact Nyx in order to bring forth the Fall, from getting to Nyx.

Now the two souls rested in this white plain, keeping each other company, occasionally sharing words of love and gestures of affection to each other. They were glad that they didn't have to become the Seal alone, glad to have each other with them for eternity.

That is until the day that a familiar blue door appeared unexpectedly. The two looked at each other before opening the door together.

* * *

"Welcome back, Master Minato and Master Minako." The two velvet room assistants, Elizabeth and Theodore, greeted warmly.

"Theo!" "Elizabeth!" The two wild cards greeted just as warmly, Minako even going as far as to jump onto the male assistant, hugging him in great happiness. Theo chuckled as he hugged his beloved guest back before gently setting her back down onto the ground and pushing her slightly to their offered seats where Minato was already seated.

The two wild cards cared for their respective assistants dearly, they always heard what they said to them when they came to visit and they always watched when they made their job as the Great Seal a bit easier when they destroyed Erebus from time to time.

"Yes...welcome back dear guests. This was quite unexpected." Igor said.

"Why are we here?" Minato asked, getting straight to the point.

"It seems that a chance to be released from the seal has arrived." Igor said, smiling eerily at the two.

"What do you mean?" Minako asked.

"An unfortunate ordeal has come up concerning our current guest, your successor. He too, has the ability of the wild card." Igor said. "If he successfully completes his journey, you will be free from the seal."

"Then why are we here?" Minato asked.

"He will need a little help with his problem. This is why, I will be temporarily sending you back to your bodies." Igor said.

"..."

"Aren't our bodies already decomposed by now?" Minako asked.

"Allow me to explain." Theodore said. "Your bodies are merely soulless, they are still currently functioning thanks to your lovely redheaded friend."

"Mitsuru-sempai kept our bodies alive?" Minato asked with slight shock.

"But what about the seal?" Minako argued. "At least one of us has to stay and keep it up, and I refuse to leave Minato behind!"

"I agree as well, I refuse to leave Minako behind." Minato said coolly.

"That is why we will send only half of each of your souls to your bodies, the other halves will stay and guard the seal." Igor explained calmly.

"Will that work? And will it have any negative effects with our bodies?" Minato asked.

"Your body will only function half as long as you would with your full soul, but half as long is more than enough for a full year." Elizabeth said. "Although, your wild card ability will be severely limited, as most of the persona belong to our current guest. The only ones you are able to use are Orpheus Telos, Eurydice Telos, Thanatos, and Messiah."

"I call Thanatos!" Minako suddenly blurted out, making Minato roll his eyes slightly as everyone in the room gave her amused smiles. "Oh c'mon, Thanatos is practically my baby!"

Minato chuckled slightly, knowing that because of Ryoji, Minako had taken great time and care to nurture Thanatos to the best of her abilities. She raised Thanatos to a very high level along with equipping him with several skill cards.

"We can just share them, Minako. When one of us is using one, the other can use the other one." Minato said placidly. "But if you really want Thanatos, I'll let you have him. Messiah is more my type anyways."

"Thanks Minato!" Minako said, already feeling Thanatos rumbling happily deep within her soul.

"Anyways, what about our money and equipment?" Minato asked.

"We have saved all of your money, weapons, items, and armour here in the velvet room." Theodore said proudly.

"How much money do we have anyways?" Minako asked. "I know I had about 8 million yen on me before I became the Seal."

"And I had around 9 million." Minato said.

"Correct, your money together, you have 17.5 million yen." Theodore said. "We will return them to you once you've settled into your bodies enough to re-visit us."

"Until then..." Igor said before the two blacked out into nothingness.


	2. Chapter 1 Settling in Inaba

Mitsuru sighed as she relaxed into her loveseat after a long day at the company. It was only then her phone rang that she sighed once more.

"Hello?"

"_Miss Kirijo! I have the most shocking news!" _

"This better be good, I've had a long day at the-"

Mitsuru was cut off however by the man's panicked yet excited voice.

"_Mr. Arisato and Miss Chitose have woken up from their comas!"_

Mitsuru nearly dropped the phone in shock. "What?! I'll be there right away!"

She then hung up the phone and got ready to leave for the hospital.

"Why now? Why did they wake up?"

* * *

When Mitsuru arrived, the two were already sitting up as the nurses and doctors checked them over. It had been 2 years since they had fallen into their comas, the reason revealing itself a few weeks later in the Abyss of Time where SEES had watched their leaders perform the miracle that prevented the fall. For some reason however, their bodies remained functioning, and Mitsuru had kept them alive. She didn't know why she did, she just had a feeling and followed it. She was now glad that she did.

"Arisato...Chitose..." Mitsuru said with a tearful and happy expression as she entered the room. The two turned to her, one gave her a blank yet warm stare while the other gave her a cheerful smile.

"Mitsuru-sempai!" The two greeted.

"You...how...?" Mitsuru asked, unable to form a coherent question.

"We'll explain later, right after these doctors finish up." Minako said, earning a satisfied nod from the Kirijo.

After 20 more minutes, the doctors had finally finished running tests on them.

"They appear to be very healthy, although they are a bit underweight and slightly malnourished, though this is understandable. Please contact us however if they start feeling ill or if they they get severe or long term headaches. I would advise them for now is to get as much healthy food into their system along with taking it easy for the next week or so."

"Of course, thank you." Mitsuru said. The doctors nodded before leaving the room, leaving the two leaders and Mitsuru behind. "Explain please?"

Minato nodded and explained about the other persona user with the same wild card ability and how they were to help him, being released from the seal permanently if they succeeded.

"I see." Mitsuru said after the two explained everything. "I'll get everything ready then."

"E-Eh? You don't have to-" Minako was cut off however when Mitsuru lifted a hand to stop her form talking.

"No, let me do this. This is my way of repaying what I owe to you two. If I can help you be released from the Seal, I will do everything in my power to do so." Mitsuru said.

"Thank you, Mitsuru-sempai." The two chorused, making the senior smile.

"No problem, I shall handle all the documentation. Are you going to attend school in Inaba?"

The two nodded. "We're going in as 3rd years since we only finished up to our second."

Mitsuru gave an approving nod, trust the two leaders of SEES to know the importance of getting a full education. "I also have a vacation home in Inaba you can use, coincidentally. I'll have someone go over there and clean things up a bit. Will you be needing anything else?"

"A haircut?" Minato asked, looking at his now long midnight blue hair with a critical eye. It went down to the lower of his back.

Mitsuru chuckled. "Of course."

"Also, Sempai, can you not tell anyone about this?" Minako asked. "We don't want anyone to get their hopes up...just in case we fail..."

"I see." Mitsuru said with a nod. It was a good thing then that she hadn't even told the rest of the group that their bodies were in comas, thinking that it was better if they moved on with their lives without the futile hope of them ever waking up. "Yes, I promise."

"Thank you." Minato said. "Now about that haircut..."

Mitsuru chuckled once more, "Yes, yes..."

* * *

Over the next week, Minato and Minako had used the money that Mitsuru had given them to buy themselves clothes and any necessities that they might need since they didn't get their money back from Theodore and Elizabeth yet. The two had also gone in to get their hair done, going back to their usual hairstyles.

At the end of the week, the two had finally gotten their money back and were ready to move into Mitsuru's Inaba Vacation home.

Before then however, Minako, who had never gambled in her life, had decided to buy a lottery ticket for the hell of it.

"Why did you buy that? It's not like you're going to win." Minato said as they boarded the train to Inaba.

"It's just for fun, hopefully I'll win something. It doesn't have to be the grand prize." Minako said.

"What is the grand prize anyways?"

"350,000,000 yen." Minako said, making Minato nearly choke in shock.

"On second thought, I hope you win." Minato said with a glint in his eye. Minako just giggled as they settled on the train, taking seats next to each other.

* * *

Once they arrived, they took a cab to the address Mitsuru had given them. When they arrived, they were immediately in awe of the place. Though not as lavish as the one they had seen in Yakushima, it was still an extremely nice house that only those who had high paying jobs could afford.

The house had 3 stories which included, a master bedroom, 3 guest bedrooms, a large kitchen, a big bathroom with 2 smaller ones, a living room which doubled as a dining room, a storage room, and a study room. The house was beautifully furnished with with finest furniture, the kitchen was stocked with the best equipment, the large fridge was already filled with food, the bathroom already had all the toiletries that they would need including Minako's feminine items.

The two immediately headed to the master bedroom first, claiming it as theirs as they filled the closet with their clothes, their school uniforms already inside.

"Wow! The bed is so soft!" Minako said, sitting the one bed. Luckily, the bed wasn't standing on 4 legs, instead, the mattress sat on what seemed to be a wooden block with drawers on the sides.

Minato opened the drawers, only to see them stocked with extra blankets, pillow sheets, and bed sheets.

"Mitsuru-sempai sure went all out didn't she?" Minako asked. "The only thing that bothers me is that the TV looks out of place."

"It's an old model, we can go get a new one later." Minato said. "I saw large mall on the way here, Junes. They should have some."

"Alright, let's go explore then." Minako said. "We don't start school until Monday, which is a couple days later."

* * *

Minako happily held Minato's hand as they explored Inaba. They walked around the shopping district, visited and prayed at the Shrine, ate a wonderful dinner at Aiya's, and ending their small tour at Junes.

Minako immediately dragged Minato to the electronics department, were they saw all the large screen TVs.

"The prices are quite steep, however, we can easily afford it." Minato said, looking at the price tag for the largest TV in the department. "160,000 yen huh? That's about $2,000 US. Seems about right for a 60 inch LCD flat screen TV."

"So this one then?" Minako asked, looking over her boyfriend's shoulder.

Minato nodded before he went off to find a sales clerk, luckily, there was one in the department next to the one they were in.

"Excuse me, we would like to buy a TV." Minato said.

The clerk blinked with surprise before smiling. "Wow, it's not often someone buys those expensive TVs. Which is also why we don't have anyone manning that department. Anyways, which one did you want to buy?"

Minato showed the clerk the one they wanted to buy.

"Wow, you guys must be loaded to buy the biggest one we have. Say, I haven't seen you guys before, you new here in Inaba?" The clerk asked.

Minato nodded. "Just moved in today."

"I see. Anyways, this is the only one we have in stock, so I'll get someone to deliver it for you to your house. Can you write down your address and phone number here on the form?" The clerk asked.

Minato filled out what needed to be filled out.

"Thank you, now let me just ring you up." The clerk then scanned the TV tag. "That'll be 180,800 yen total with tax and everything."

Minato pulled out his wallet and gave the man 181,000 yen, receiving a 200 yen coin in return.

"The TV should be there in about a day or so, is that okay?" The clerk asked, Minato nodded. "Thank you for shopping at Junes, have a nice day!"

"You too." Minato said before returning to his girlfriend. "Minako, let's go back."

"Alright." Minako smiled, kissing his cheek before they let hand in hand.

* * *

The next day...

"Let's go explore some more!" Minako said cheerfully, dragging Minato right out the door. Minato was half asleep when she did so. How did she have so much energy in the mornings?

* * *

The two arrived at the front of the school gates, looking around.

"So this is Yasogami high, to think, we'll be starting out as third years tomorrow..." Minako said.

"Yeah..." Minato nodded.

"Now that we know the way to school, want to check out the Amagi Inn? It's a local hot spot and their hot springs are amazing!" Minako said, missing the slight wince from Minato.

Luckily for him, he was able to escape Mitsuru's execution along with Akihiko by hiding in a small crevice in a rock that was sitting in the middle of the hot springs. Unfortunately however, that meant that Junpei and Ryoji had to suffer because the spot could only fit 2 people. He had grabbed Akihiko first because he knew the boxer wasn't a pervert.

"Sure...let's go." Minato said, smiling slightly.

* * *

"Hello, welcome to the Amagi Inn, how may I help you?" A young girl around their age asked.

"Hello, sorry, we're just looking around. We just moved into Inaba yesterday." Minako said.

"Oh? Really?" The girl asked. "Hey...you look familiar..."

"Hmm..." Minako hummed before remembering. "Ah! I remember now, you're Yukiko Amagi right? I met you before when I came here two years ago for a tennis meet."

Yukiko thought for a moment before remembering. "Ah! That's right! It's nice to see you again!"

"You're a 2nd year now, right? At Yasogami?" Minako asked.

Yukiko smiled and nodded.

"That's great! We're going to be 3rd years!" Minako said, pointing to herself and Minato.

"Eh? But you were a second year at Gekkoukan High School 2 years ago, shouldn't you be finished school by now?" Yukiko asked.

"Actually, at the very end of our 2nd year, Minato and I got into an accident that left us in a coma for the last two years. We just woke up a week ago." Minako answered.

"Oh! Sorry I didn't mean to pry..." Yukiko said apologetically.

"It's fine." Minako said with a smile. "Allow me to reintroduce myself. I'm Minako Chitose, and this is my boyfriend, Minato Arisato."

When Yukiko's eyes landed on Minato, she immediately blushed. Minato was a very handsome individual after all that had a certain charm that drew others to him like bees to honey.

"H-Hello, my name is Yukiko Amagi, it's nice to meet you Arisato-sempai!"

Minato gave the girl a calming yet charming look. "Minato-sempai is fine. It's nice to meet you as well."

"And you can call me Minako-sempai!"

"R-Right!"

"We'll be seeing you at school tomorrow. Have a nice evening, Yukiko-chan!"

"Good bye!" Yukiko waved as the two left.


	3. Chapter 2 Into the TV

Minako hummed as she did some finishing touches on the two bento that was hers and Minato's lunch. It was finally their first day of school and Minako was extremely excited.

She then heard some foot steps coming down the stairs, after a few seconds, Minato appeared in his new uniform, yawning slightly.

"Morning." Minato said, giving Minako a morning kiss as he sat down at the kitchen island counter. Minako then set a plate of breakfast in front of him. A nice stack of fluffy pancakes sat in front of him along with an ice cold glass of milk. "Thank you."

Minako smiled at him before wrapping the bentos. She then took off her apron and sat at the kitchen island counter with Minato and ate pancakes with him. After the two were finished, they put their dishes in the dish washer before grabbing their bags and heading out the door.

* * *

Students whispered as they set their eyes on Minato and Minako. They soon stopped when the two reached their assigned classroom.

* * *

"Hello, you two must be the transfer students. My name is Ms. Sofue, I'm your homeroom teacher along with your World History teacher. Welcome to class 3-1." Ms. Sofue said, she looked like a nice woman, though a little odd as she wore an Egyptian headdress. "Please introduce yourself to the class."

Minako decided to go first. "Hello! My name is Minako Chitose, I like being active and I love to cook!"

"My name is Minato Arisato. I like sleeping and Minako, so don't try anything because she's my girlfriend." Minato said, staring the male population of the class down.

The girls had hearts in their eyes as they stared at Minato.

"_Look at him! He's so dreamy!"_

"_He's so cool!"_

"_Awww...He's taken already?"_

"_But they match don't they? And their names match too! They can be the MinaxMina pair!"_

"_You watch too much Anime..."_

On the other hand, the guys looked dejected, there was no way they could compete with Minato for Minako.

"You can sit...over there, there are a pair of desks being unused." Ms. Sofue said, pointing to the middle row.

Minako smiled at their luck, she was be sitting next to Minato like she did in Gekkoukan high. The two hurried to their seats as class started.

* * *

At lunch, the two decided to hang out on the roof. That was where they saw Yukiko having lunch with her friends.

"Oh! Yukiko-chan!" Minako waved, walking over. Yukiko brightened as she spotted the cheerful senior.

"Oh! Minato-sempai! Minako-sempai!" Yukiko greeted.

"Yukiko? Who're they?" A short haired girl wearing green asked, blushing slightly as her eyes landed on Minato while the boys in the group looked at Minako with awe.

"This is Minako Chitose-sempai. She's a third year student that had just moved here a couple days ago." Yukiko introduced. "And Minato Arisato-sempai, her boyfriend. They visited the inn yesterday while exploring Inaba."

"Oh! I see. My name is Chie Satonaka, Yukiko's best and childhood friend. It's nice to meet you sempai!"

"My name is Yosuke Hanamura, it's nice to meet you sempai." Yosuke smiled.

"I'm Souji Seta. I just transferred here as well from the city about a month ago." Souji said.

"And the name's Kanji Tatsumi. I'm a first year unlike my sempai here, but I guess you're my sempai too. Nice to meet ya."

"It's nice to meet you as well." Minato said, smiling slightly.

"Do you want to join us for lunch, Sempai?" Yukiko asked.

"If it's okay with you." Minako said, sitting next to the group with Minato sitting next to her. She then pulled out the two bento boxes she made that morning and gave one to Minato, who took it was a small 'thank you'.

Minato opened up the bento, only to see an appetizing array of colours along with a delicious smell.

"Wow, that looks amazing! Your mom must be a great cook!" Chie commented.

"Actually. Minato and I are orphans. I made this bento." Minako corrected, making an awkward silence appear.

"Good going, Chie!" Yosuke hissed.

"Sorry! I didn't know!" Chie apologized.

"It's fine." Minako shrugged as Minato quietly and happily ate his lunch. "So what is there to do around here in Inaba?"

"Well, there isn't much. You could go fishing at the Samegawa Floodplain. But most teenagers hang around Junes." Chie said, shrugging slightly. "You'll find that Inaba is a really quiet town. There's not much to do around here."

"If you're really bored, you can go to Okina city, which is only a short train ride away." Yosuke added.

"Haha, thanks." Minako smiled as they chatted on random subjects before lunch ended.

* * *

Minato watched in amusement and slight anticipation as Minako flipped to the channel where they were announcing the lotto numbers. Their new TV hadn't arrived yet, but was due to very soon.

He then got up to get a glass of water before a loud scream echoed throughout the house. Minato immediately dropped the glass he was holding, letting it shatter onto the ground as he ran to the living room. Instead of the danger he expected, he saw Minako jumping around the room, squealing in happiness.

"I WON! MINATO LOOK! I WON!" Minako screamed happily, shoving the ticket into his hands.

Minato looked at the ticket before turning to the screen. He scanned the numbers before his eyes widened in shock. Although Minako didn't have every number right, she did had 5 out of the six that were correct, which meant that she had won 200,000,000 million yen.

He watched, stunned as Minako immediately called the number on the screen. She conversed happily with the person on the phone, reading out her ticket code, which prevented cheating. After a few more minutes, she hung up the phone before calling Mitsuru. After a short talk, she hung up as well.

"They let me choose between the payment over time, or the all at once. I chose the all at once and had it transferred to our bank account that Mitsuru-sempai made for us. Then I called Mitsuru-sempai to tell her what happened." Minako said. "Isn't this great Minato?"

"Yes." Minato said, smiling as he pulled Minako in for a passionate kiss. He pulled her closer once he felt her wrap her arms around his neck and kiss back. With the amount of money they had, they wouldn't have any financial troubles.

* * *

The next day, the lotto company had announced the winners on TV. Once the reporters in Inaba heard that someone in their town won the second place prize, they immediately went to interview the winners.

"Miss Chitose, how do you feel right now?" a reporter asked.

"Really happy of course!"

"What are you going to do with the money?" another reported asked.

"We're going to save it for the future. We're also donating a couple million to charities." Minako said.

Soon the reporters left after Minato had shooed them away when their questions started to get personal.

* * *

The two were the talk of the school afterwards. It was a hectic day and Minako and Minato escaped as soon as the bell had rung.

The two were currently in the living room, relaxing from the troubling day they had.

Soon the doorbell rang.

"Hello? Delivery from Junes!" a muffled voice said.

"It's finally here!" Minako said. Minato opened the door and let the man cart the TV inside. As soon as Minako turned around, something suddenly covered her mouth, after taking a breath, she slumped into unconsciousness. The same happened to Minato when he came back from getting his wallet.

The two were carried onto the man's shoulder's and towards the delivery truck.

* * *

Minato was the first to wake up in the strange place. He groaned as he sat up from the ground he was laying on. When he looked around, he couldn't believe himself. Everything was covered in a hazy yellow-green fog. The atmosphere seemed extremely similar to the dark hour as well.

He then suddenly remembered that Minako was kidnapped as well and looked around frantically for her. He sighed in relief once that he saw that she was only a few feet away from him. He walked over and gently shook her awake.

"Mnn...Minato?" Minako groaned as she picked herself off of the ground with Minato's help. "What happened? Where are we?"

"I don't really remember much, but I remember that we had gotten our TV, then it was blank after that." Minato said, helping her stand. "As for where we are, I don't know. The atmosphere seems similar to that of the Dark Hour. Could this be the ordeal that we're supposed to help with?"

"But we don't have our evokers, they're back in our room. How're we supposed to summon our Persona?" Minako asked.

"I don't-" Minato said before he felt a familiar pulse within him. "Orpheus Telos!"

In a flash of light, Orpheus Telos had appeared in front of the two before disappearing shortly.

"H-How did you do that?" Minako asked with awe.

"I don't know. I think this place, although similar, has a stronger atmosphere than the dark hour. All I had to do was think about Orpheus Telos and call him out, the rest was easy."

"Let me try." Minako closed her eyes for a moment before opening them. "Eurydice Telos!"

Another flash of light appeared before Eurydice Telos, which looked like the feminine version of Orpheus Telos, appeared before disappearing shortly afterwards.

"Okay, now what?" Minako asked.

"I...don't know."

* * *

Souji widened his eyes in shock as he just watched the midnight channel. On it was Minako-sempai and Minato-sempai! Although nothing special actually happened to them it just showed a clear picture of the two walking around in the TV world.

_Pipipipipipipi_

Souji immediately answered his cellphone.

"Whoa! Did you see that! It was Minako-sempai and Minato-sempai!"

"Yeah, let's meet up at Junes tomorrow."

* * *

"So it was Minato-sempai and Minako-sempai?" Kanji asked.

"Yeah, I can't believe it. It's not one this time, but two." Chie said.

"Which is probably why we didn't bother with checking up on them, since the kidnapper only went for single targets before now." Yukiko said.

"Uhh...guys, there's a problem." Yosuke said as he just appeared.

"You're late, Yosuke. But what is it?" Chie asked.

"The TV at Junes, it's been bought!" Yosuke panicked.

"What?!" Chie nearly shouted if Souji hadn't told her to keep it down. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know, I went there to check on it but it was gone with a big fat 'Sold Out' sign standing in it's place." Yosuke said.

"But how're we supposed to get to the TV world now? If we go through with another TV, we don't know where we could end up!" Yukiko panicked.

"Calm down guys." Souji said, calming his friends slightly. "Yosuke, see if you can find out who had bought the TV. Depending on who bought it, we might actually have to use a different TV."

"Isn't that dangerous though?" Chie asked meekly.

"What choice do we have? Minako-sempai and Minato-sempai could be killed if we don't get to them in time." Souji said darkly.

* * *

"Hey Takashi, do you know who bought the big screen TV?" Yosuke asked.

"You mean the biggest one?" Takashi asked.

Yosuke nodded.

"Sure, here." Takashi said, handing over the sales form to Yosuke.

"Minato-sempai?!" Yosuke gaped.

"What? Minato-sempai bought that TV? But where does he live?" Chie asked worriedly.

"Here." Yosuke said, pointing to the address written down.

"Hey, I know that place. It's not to far from the inn." Yukiko said, taking the form from Yosuke.

"Good, let's go."

* * *

"Man, sempai must be living it up!" Kanji said as they stood in front of the house.

Souji rang the doorbell, but no one answered. He then tried to open the door, surprised to find it unlocked. "Guys, the door is open."

Once they walked in, they looked around the room in awe.

"Man, the inside looks even better than the outside." Chie said.

"There!" Yukiko said, pointing to the large Junes box in the living room. The group hurried to open it, relieved to find the TV inside. "Here it is."

"You guys ready?" Souji asked.

The group nodded before they jumped in.

* * *

"Hey Teddie, did someone come in here?"

"Yes! I smell two strong scents!" Teddie said happily but then became sad again. "But I can't find out where they are."

"So Minato-sempai and Minako-sempai are in here then." Chie said.

"I need something about themselves to help look for them." Teddie said.

"Well, Minako-sempai is a cheerful and outgoing girl that's full of energy. I don't know much about Minato-sempai, but he seemed to be very protective of Minako-sempai. He's also very calm and collected, and he likes to sleep a lot from what I heard." Yukiko said.

"Cheerful, outgoing, protective, calm, collected, and sleepy. Got it!" Teddie said, sniffing around. "I can smell them! They're that way!"

* * *

The group soon came to where they saw 2 people walking the in the distance.

"Minako-sempai? Minato-sempai? Is that you?" Souji called out.

The two turned around, and with relief on their faces, they ran to the group.

"Thank god you guys are here, Minato and I have been walking around forever!" Minako whined.

"And I swear that we've been going around in circles..." Minato grumbled.

"Are you two okay? Did you run into any monsters?" Yukiko asked.

"A few, but we just blurted out the word 'Persona' before some weird spirit monster came out of nowhere and killed them off." Minako said, telling half the truth.

"Wow, they're just like you, Partner." Yosuke said, looking at Souji.

"Say...how do we get out of here?" Minako asked. "I'm feeling tired..."

"Oh right!" Yosuke said before they led the two to where the exit was.

"I've been wondering...but who is this?" Minato asked, looking at Teddie.

"I'm Teddie!" Teddie introduced. "You must be Minato, and the cute girl next to you must be Minako-chan!"

"It's nice to meet you Teddie." Minako said, petting the bear, making the said bear blush.

Before they left however, Minato turned to Teddie. "Why aren't you leaving with us?"

"I live here!" Teddie said with a smile.

"I see..." Minato said before he left.


	4. Chapter 3 Joining the Team and Curry

The next day, after Minato and Minako rested up, they met the group at the Junes Food Court. Souji had explained everything with Chie, Yukiko, Yosuke, and Kanji pitching in at random times.

"So, a murder has been going around and killing people by throwing them into the TV, and you guys, with the power of Persona, are trying to catch him because the police won't be able to." Minato summarized.

"We also want you guys to join us." Souji said.

Minako and Minato shared knowing smiles before agreeing.

* * *

"Why are we in the grocery department?" Minako asked. Souji and Yosuke pointed to Yukiko and Chie.

"They're making curry for us. I'm not to sure about Chie, but Yukiko has the Amagi inn backing her up. I bet her food is going to taste great!" Yosuke said. "Anyways, I gotta go get something ready, see you guys later."

Souji however, turned pale at the mention of Yukiko's cooking as Yosuke left.

"What do you put in curry again?" Chie asked.

"Carrots, potatoes, onions...mushrooms, green peppers, and...radishes?" Yukiko said.

"Are radishes the same turnips?" Chie asked. "What do you think Yosuke likes in his Curry? I have a feeling that he's real picky."

"He's on another floor isn't he? Do you want me to go ask?" Yukiko asked.

"Nah, no need, plus he said he needed to get something ready." Chie said, brushing the thought off.

"Hmmm...Hey Chie, you use potato starch for curry, don't you?" Yukiko asked.

"Umm...O-O course you do." Chie said, unsure.

"Otherwise the sauce wouldn't thicken. Then we need some potato starch and some... flour?" Yukiko suggested.

"Th-There are different kinds of flour... Which one should we get? All-purpose? Whole wheat?" Chie asked.

"Whole wheat sounds healthy, let's get that one." Yukiko said, picking the ingredient off the shelf.

"I have a feeling that whatever they're making is going to turn out terribly wrong." Minato said idly, glad that he and Minako won't be joining the juniors and the freshman for the camping trip.

"Chilli peppers!" Yukiko smiled, taking another ingredient off the shelf. "It isn't curry if it isn't spicy."

"Let's just get everything that seems right. Let's get some kimchi...and some ground pepper too!" Chie said.

"They're two kinds though, black and white."

"Whoa! Way to go Yukiko... The Amagi family sure knows their stuff! Let's get both just in case."

"Oh yeah... We'll need some special ingredients, too, to spice things up." Yukiko said.

"And this is where the disaster happens..." Minato said quietly to Minako and Souji.

"Hmm, I remember seeing something on TV about that... I think it was... chocolate... coffee... yogurt..." Chie said. "Oh! Let's get Mint Chocolate! I love that stuff! I don't like coffee that much, though... Oh, I can drink mocha, so let's get that."

"M-Mint chocolate?" Minako asked, slightly horrified. "Be right back, I'm going to do a little bit of my own shopping so I can cook something for Souji-kun when that curry goes horrible wrong..."

"P-Please do..." Souji said desperately, knowing at Minako was a good cook.

"What about some seafood? That should make the sauce taste better." Yukiko smiled.

"I'll pray for you at the shrine." Minato said, earning a resigned nod from the silverette before he himself went off to find Minako to help her carry the groceries.

He soon found his girlfriend picking up some chicken breasts from the meat isle.

"What will you be cooking?" Minato asked.

"I'm thinking of making each of them a bento box." Minako said. "Just a simple one though. It'll have chicken rice balls, rolled sweet eggs, steamed veggies with oyster sauce, octopus shaped sausages, and a a few slices of apples shaped like rabbits."

Minato nodded in approval.

"What are we having for dinner tonight?"

"Well, we still have some beef stew from last night. I'm thinking of stir frying some rice noodles and putting the beef stew on top." Minako said absentmindedly. Minato nodded.

"Sounds good." Minato said.

* * *

After dinner and after Minako cooked the bentos, she had Minato deliver them to Souji's house.

"What's this?" Souji asked as Minato handed him 4 neatly wrapped bento boxes.

"Minako made these for you just in case that curry turns out to be a disaster." Minato said.

"Thanks, that was really nice of her." Souji said, taking the bento boxes.

"I'll pass it on. Later, don't die." Minato said before he went home.

* * *

The camping trip lasted a couple days, during which, Minato took Minako out on a date in Okina city, where they looked around before returning home where Minato got a nice, passionate reward in bed afterwards.

* * *

Minato yawned as he woke up with his arms wrapped around Minako, feeling her smooth bare back against his equally bare chest. He gently kissed Minako's exposed shoulder, gently rubbing her naked thigh to rouse her from her sleep.

As Minako groaned, he looked towards their alarm clock. They had a bit of time, so they wouldn't be late. He then watched as Minako sat up from the bed, stretched, her back facing him as she stood up and opened her dresser. She took out a bra and a matching pair of panties and put them on, not at all worried or concerned that Minato was watching her every move. She then went to the bathroom and washed her face before brushing her teeth. She brushed and tied up her hair before moving to the closet to put on her uniform.

Minato then decided it was his turn. He sat up from the bed, the sheets covering his naked lower half before he too stood up and got dressed. Minako gave him a good morning kiss as he buttoned up his shirt before putting on his blazer.

"I'll go fix us up a quick breakfast." Minako said before hurrying downstairs.

When Minato finally came down the stairs he immediately headed to the kitchen and wrapped his arms around Minako's waist, kissing her shoulders before moving up to her neck, making her giggle.

"Didn't you have enough from last night?" She asked playfully as she stir fried some meat for their lunch.

"I can never get enough of you." Minato answered simply as he buried his nose into her hair, smelling the sweet fresh scent of her shampoo. He had to soon let go however when Minako finished cooking.

* * *

"How was the camping trip?" Minako asked as they join the group for lunch.

Yukiko and Chie gave out huffs while Souji, Yosuke, and Kanji groaned.

"I never want to have a repeat of that again." Yosuke said. "The curry they served us was awful. It was slimy, gritty, and it had hard bits in it that I couldn't chew. If you hadn't made us those bentos, I'm sure we would've died from starvation or food poisoning."

"Oh..." Minato said, feeling for the boys since he once had Fuuka's cooking, it was not a pretty sight. Fuuka however, got better at it as time went on and in the end had actually made very good riceballs for him.

"How did you cook the curry?" Minako asked curiously.

"W-Well...we put the vegetables in the pot, then added water, then added the curry powder." Chie said, wincing slightly.

"After that, we added about a handful of potato starch and flour to thicken it along with the mint chocolate and mocha coffee to give it some body. Then we added the shrimp and chicken last so it wouldn't over cook." Yukiko said.

Minako frowned. "Did you taste the food before you served it?"

"N-No...we wanted them to taste it first, we did make it for them after all." Yukiko said.

"Did you follow the recipe?"

"W-Well, it seemed really complicated and we didn't understand some of the steps so we just did whatever we thought was right..." Chie said.

"How long did you add the chicken before serving?"

"Uhh...not long because we didn't want it to overcook since the curry was really hot." Yukiko said.

Minako sighed. "Chie-chan, Yukiko-chan, what you did...that was just...terrible."

The two girls winced as the boys watched curiously.

"First rule in cooking, taste your food." Minako said. "If you won't taste your food because you're afraid, then you cannot serve it. Also, tasting your own food is a way to see if you need to improve it. The only exceptions to this rule is if you're allergic to the an ingredient you're working with or if it's against your nature to eat an ingredient you're working with. Such as a vegetarian cooking a steak dinner for another person."

The girls looked down at their feet.

"Rule number two, follow the recipe. If the one you're working with is too hard, find a simpler one. Don't start experimenting until you're comfortable with making the dish."

The girls nodded, looking downcast.

"Rule number three, make sure your raw meats are thoroughly cooked, especially raw chicken and pork. Do you know what you nearly did you Souji-kun and Yosuke-kun?" Minako asked, stern.

The girls shook their heads.

"You just served undercooked, if not raw, chicken to them." Minako said, her eyes narrowed. "They could've seriously gotten sick from what you did! Did you know that people can die from eating improperly cooked chicken?"

The girls trembled slightly as they shook their heads once more.

"Well, they can! They were lucky to even not get sick from eating your curry, otherwise they could've been sent to the hospital!" Minako said, although she wasn't shouting, the anger in her voice made her seem like she was. "Now then, please apologize. I can overlook the not tasting part since it was an innocent mistake on your end, not to mention that a lot of people forgo this rule, but I cannot over look the raw meat."

Chie and Yukiko looked towards Souji and Yosuke, who were both unusually quiet from the raw meat revelation.

"S-Souji-kun...Yosuke-kun... I'm sorry for serving you raw meat without making sure it was cooked first. I should've known better." Yukiko said, tears brimming her eyes.

"Yosuke... Souji... I'm sorry for the raw meat too. We should've followed a simpler recipe. You guys could've seriously gotten sick, and I don't think that Yukiko and I could ever forgive ourselves if that happened..." Chie said, the sadness clearly visible in her eyes.

"H-Hey...no need to cry." Yosuke said awkwardly. "It's not like you meant it. Just next time...cook everything thoroughly, and taste it first!"

Souji nodded in agreement, making the two girls smile.

"Hey, you said that you couldn't eat chicken raw, but what about shrimp?" Kanji asked curiously.

"You can eat shrimp raw, even alive, just fine, since it doesn't the have same bacteria that Chicken and Pork has. You can even eat beef raw." Minako smiled, becoming cheerful again.

"Cool." Kanji smirked.


	5. Chapter 4 Rise Kujikawa

"Hey, did you guys watch the news last night?" Kanji asked.

"Oh you mean the stuff about Rise quitting her job? I wonder why though, she was just starting to become popular." Chie said.

"Just goes to show you that even celebrity life is tough." Yosuke said.

"Who is Rise anyways? Is she really that popular?" Souji asked.

"I've never heard of her either." Minato shrugged, Minako agreed with him. Currently, she was sitting on his lap with his arms around her waist and his chin resting on her shoulder.

"Huh? You guys don't know who Rise is? Guys, what's wrong with you? She's all over the media!" Yosuke exclaimed. "Although, it hasn't been long since her debut, but at the rate she's going she'll be a top class idol in no time. To be honest, I'm a fan too, she's such a cutie pie."

"Cutie Pie? What are you, 80?" Chie asked. "Anyways, they said that she used to live here, so she must have a lot of local fans."

"The news said she's going to live in her grandmother's tofu shop, do they mean Marukyu?" Yukiko asked.

"Oh! I know that place. It's the shop near the blacksmiths, I bought tofu there the other day and made the most delicious fried tofu stuffed with shrimp!" Minako said happily.

"Our inn was also serving their tofu until recently." Yukiko said.

"Oh, that place in the shopping district...! I pass by there all the time. Wait, does this mean we can meet Rise if we go to her tofu shop?" Yosuke asked, excited.

"Aren't we getting a bit sidetracked here?" Chie asked.

"What do you mean?" Yosuke asked.

"Someone as famous as Rise has been appearing on television and will be coming here to Inaba." Minato said.

"Did you forget that people who have been on TV are related to the murders?" Minako asked. "She fits the description and there's a good chance that she'll be the next target."

"Oh c'mon, it's not like Rise started showing up on TV recently, and how could she be connected to the incidents to far?" Yosuke asked.

"I was wondering the same thing, so I did some research." Yukiko said. "I found out that she didn't have any personal interactions with Ms. Yamano, but that had been on the same shows two times."

"Don't you think this connection with Ms. Yamano is just a coincidence? I mean, Minato and I have never even heard of the lady before we were kidnapped." Minako said.

"I guess that's true." Yukiko frowned.

"She's been and idol for a while now but thanks to last night's news, she's the talk of the town now." Chie said.

"And once she's in Inaba, she'll fit all the requirements all the previous victims met." Souji finished.

* * *

Later that night, Minako and Minato watched as the midnight channel came on. It showed Rise in a skimpy swimsuit, before suddenly shutting off.

"So... Rise-san is next." Minato said.

* * *

The school was buzzing the next day about Rise's appearance, many of the students had left school right after the last bell, hoping to catch a glimpse of the idol in the shopping district.

"I've been hearing that there's a big crowd in Marukyu." Yukiko said.

"Not surprising." Minato said.

"But was that really her on the Midnight Channel? Something seemed off about her." Chie said.

"It was her, no doubt about it! Her curves, her posture, and those slim legs." Yosuke said dreamily, making Minato and Minako sweatdrop. "It was Rise, no doubt about it."

* * *

Souji, Minato, Kanji, and Yosuke arrived at the shopping district, only to see a crowd of people in front of the Marukyu tofu shop.

"Quite the crowd." Minato said. "Let's hurry this up, Minako told me to buy some tofu for her."

It was then that they spotted Adachi nearby, waving a red directional baton.

"What's going on?" Souji asked.

"Ay yi yi...These gawkers keep streaming in with their cars, trying to part right in the middle of the shopping district." Adachi sighed.

"Why's that?" Kanji asked.

"Don't you know? Rise Kujikawa is here. Hey, did you see her already? Is she here? Which is it?" Adachi asked.

"We're just asking why a plainclothes detective like you is doing traffic duty." Kanji said.

"Huh? Oh...well, the Inaba Police Department isn't that big, and we don't have enough staff. Well, I have more work to do, see you kids later." Adachi said before leaving.

"Dude, you managed to scare off a police officer on active duty!" Yosuke said with a sweatdrop.

"I wasn't trying to scare the guy, I just said what I was thinking..." Kanji said.

"It's weird though, for the police to come out like this. You guys don't think that they suspect that Rise might be the next target do you?" Souji asked.

It was then they noticed Dojima clearing the crowd. "Alright, clear the way! Hey Adachi! ...Damnit, I told him not to leave his post." He sighed before spotting Souji. "What are you guys doing? Hm? Kanji Tatsumi? Are you friends with him?"

"He's a friend, uncle, and he not as bad a person as you think he is." Souji said, defending Kanji who was about to retort to Dojima's remark.

"If you say so, but what are you all doing here?" Dojima asked.

"I'm here to buy tofu for my girlfriend, she's cooking fried tofu tonight and we don't have enough, so I'm here to buy more." Minato said. Dojima nodded before turning to Souji, Yosuke, and Kanji.

"Ah well... we came here to see Rise." Souji explained reluctantly.

"Is that right?" Dojima said, almost sounding disappointed.

"W-Well who wouldn't want to check out a place if they found out an idols family ran a regular looking tofu store? I'm uh… a big fan." Yosuke quickly said, slightly embarrassed.

Dojima sighed slightly. "Fine, but remember, she might be a celebrity but this is her home, try not to bother them too much." Dojima said before heading up the road to where Adachi was.

When the group returned to the crowd, they found them leaving one by one, disappointment written on their faces. "Man, there's no one in there but an old lady."

"She's not there? Seriously?" Yosuke exclaimed, disappointed himself once the crowd was finally gone.

"Pfftt... you sound like the world is about to end." Kanji smirked.

"Since all these people are gone this is our chance to check around." Souji said.

"Yeah, I guess I'll see what they got to buy." Yosuke said. The four walked up the steps into the Tofu shop which was completely deserted of everyone except for the one lady working in the back. "Sure enough the only one here is your typical old lady."

"Man why don't you just ask if she's in the back?" Kanji asked.

"We can't just go and ask them if we could bother an idol to come see us." Yosuke said.

"I'm getting some ganmodoki." Souji said.

"What's ganmodoki?" Yosuke asked.

"It's fried tofu patties with veggies and stuff mixed in." Kanji said as Minato went to look around for the tofu Minako wanted.

"I don't like tofu, but I think I can eat that." Yosuke smiled. "Excuse me!"

"Hm? Yes can I help you?" the old lady said, Souji, Yosuke, and Kanji suddenly looked at her then the other person in the back.

"Wha-wait, then who's that," Yosuke said surprised.

"What?" the handkerchief girl said, turning around.

"Uh, are you Rise?" Kanji asked.

"Yeah, so?" Rise said, annoyed.

Yosuke suddenly ran up next to Kanji to look at Rise himself.

"No way, are you really Risette?" Yosuke asked.

"What do you want?" Rise said, sounding even more annoyed. Minato shook his head.

"Oh uh sorry, um… some Tofu please?" Yosuke said.

"Tofu, which kind?" Rise asked.

"Huh? Uh… Wh-Which one's which again?" Yosuke said, turning to Souji.

"If you're going to eat it by itself, you should go with silken. Momen's better for cooking… Depends on how you use it." Rise said.

"I would like some Momen tofu please." Minato said. Rise immediately blushed as her eyes landed on the handsome and mysterious looking blue haired boy.

"R-Right, and you guys?" Rise asked, tearing her eyes away from Minato to look at Souji, Kanji, and Yosuke.

"U-Um… uh…." Yosuke stammered.

"We'll take three ganmodoki please." Souji said.

"Right, I'll go get them." Rise said, walking past the four and picking up their order.

"Wow, she's nothing like she seems on TV… I wonder if she's just tired." Yosuke said. "But man, it's really her… I'm glad we came at least, mission complete."

"We haven't done what we came for yet." Souji said.

"Oh yeah, right." Yosuke said.

"Listen, can I ask you something? It's not about your idol status." Souji said, she turned back around, looking annoyed once more.

"What is it?" Rise asked.

"Have you noticed anything weird going on? Or anyone who seemed a bit strange?" Souji asked.

"Strange?... you mean like stalkers? Are you guys fans of mine?" Rise asked.

"Yosuke over there is." Souji said.

"Wh-D-Don't tell her that," Yosuke said, panicking.

"You are… remember? Her curves, her posture, her slim legs, you finished checkin' em out yet or what?" Kanji asked. Minato chuckled at Yosuke's misfortune and Kanji's blunt nature.

"W-Waahh! You're doing that on purpose aren't you!" Yosuke exclaimed.

"Look, you know that there's been some murders and kidnappings happening in Inaba right? All of this stuff… we've been doing some looking into it ourselves and it seems to be connected to some other weird things that have been happening." Souji said.

"Weird things?" Rise said.

"Alright how to explain this… have you heard of the midnight channel? This show that appears around midnight, it's not really regularly scheduled." Souji asked.

"That thing that was on last night, the midnight channel?" Rise said.

"Wait, what? You saw it last night?" Yosuke said.

"I heard the rumors from some friends of mine last night, but that girl on last night wasn't me, I've never been filmed wearing that swimsuit before, and the bustline…" Rise said, trailing off.

"The what?" Yosuke asked.

"Mine aren't that big." Rise said nonchalantly.

"Oh… yeah… I see what you mean now. I-I mean… What am I saying… U-Um, I'm sorry." Yosuke said.

"Don't apologize so much." Rise said. "What is that show about anyway?"

"We're not too sure about it ourselves, but you know there's been some kidnappings and murders happening here right? We think that people who have been appearing on that show are the next ones to be kidnapped." Souji said, which seemed to surprise Rise.

"I know this seems sudden, but we're not lying." Kanji said.

"That's the reason we came here, we thought you should know about it. Well that and Yosuke being a fan." Souji joked.

"D-Dude, OK that one was on purpose!" Yosuke said.

"Hmhm, you're funny." Rise said, giggling, smiling for a second for the first time.

"So that wasn't a dream then? I was tired yesterday, but I couldn't sleep, so I decided to try that rumor I'd heard about. Here's your order, that'll be 600 yen," Rise said handing the bag to Souji.

"Listen, all of this stuff that's been going on there's a chance that it could happen to you," Souji said, taking the bag from her.

"Thanks, I'll be careful." Rise said before handing another bag to Minato. "And here you are, that'll be 1000 yen please."

Minato nodded and handed Rise the money, who blushed slightly once more when his fingers grazed her hand.

When the four boys left, Souji turned to Minato with an amused look. Minato raised a brow.

"What?"

"Minato-sempai, I think Rise likes you." Souji said.

Minato blinked before shrugging.

"What? You don't care?" Yosuke exclaimed.

"Why should I? It's not like I'll ever return her feelings. I have Minako, and I don't need anyone else but her." Minato stated simply.

"Man, you're hardcore aren't you sempai? Loyal to Minako-sempai to the very end, you must like her a lot." Kanji said.

"Of course." Minato said with a nod.

"Great, Rise likes the one guy who won't look at anyone else but his girlfriend." Yosuke sighed. "I don't blame you though, Minako-sempai is cute. I hear guys talking about her all the time. She seems to be the most popular girl in school right now, even more popular than Yukiko."

"Was it like that back at your old school?" Souji asked.

Minato nodded. "With Minako's personality and charm, she was one of the most popular girls in Gekkoukan."

"Were you popular, Sempai?" Kanji asked.

Minato nodded with a sigh. "Girls swarmed me nearly everyday. My other sempai, who was a boxing champ at the school, also had the same problem. Except he was more popular because he was a third year."

"How can you not like girls swarming you?" Yosuke asked incredulously.

"It's annoying." Minato said firmly. "Anyways, I'm going to head back home. Minako is waiting for me."

"Ooh~, Minako-sempai is kinda like your wife isn't she?" Yosuke grinned. "You also live with her, alone, with no supervision or anything..."

Minato spared a look towards him. "She might as well be my wife. That's how much I love her. As for how far I've gone with her... You definitely won't be making it that far with any girl for a long time."

The last statement made them drop their jaws at the implications. Minato smirked before leaving the three.

* * *

"Minako! I'm home!" Minato called as he took off his shoes and walked into the house. Minako immediately showed up, she wiped her hands on the cloth hanging from the pocket on the front of the apron she was wearing. Minato smiled at her and held up the tofu, to which she instantly smiled.

As she took the tofu from him, she gave him a loving kiss before pulling away. Yes, this was the life.

To be greeted every time he came home by Minako, that was something he wanted to see for the rest of his life. He could already imagine it. Either Minako or him would be a house spouse, at home taking care of the kids they would eventually have while the other went to work, making an honest living. A family, yes, he wanted a family with Minako. That would be a dream come true.


	6. Chapter 5 Striptease

During the next few days, quite a few things happened. First, the group decided to stake out the tofu shop, on the lookout for anyone trying anything on Rise. Of course, that plan failed miserably when they were distracted by a stalker fan and the kidnapper had gotten Rise and had thrown her into the TV. The second was finding some clues to help look for her, of course, it only took about a day to find it before they were finally able to get Teddie to lead them to Rise.

* * *

"What is this place...? It's all dark..." Chie said, looking around.

Minato and Minako were trying to get a good look as well, now that they were sporting their new glasses that Teddie had made for them. Minato got a midnight blue pair while Minako got an amber red.

Suddenly the lights turned on and everyone became shocked as they took in the visuals.

"Whoa..! Is this a...?" Chie asked but couldn't finish the question.

"Oh, like the kind you always find in resort towns?!" Yosuke asked with a slight smile.

"Ah, I think you're right." Yukiko nodded, then suddenly panicked when everyone turned to look at her. "Oh! B-But we don't have one... Our inn is not like that!"

"Huh, so this is a strip joint, eh?" Kanji asked.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Minato agreed. "Too much pink and purple for my tastes though. If I was single, I'd never come to a place like this."

"It reminds me a bit of club escapade." Minako said.

"Strip?!" Teddie exclaimed, turning around suddenly to face the group. "Aha! I know what that is, It's the same thing that zebras have, right?!"

Minako and Minato sweatdropped, sighing slightly as they were reminded of Ikutsuki's lame jokes.

"Strip...like a zebra, right?! Right?!" Teddie asked.

The group sweatdropped before ignoring the poor bear.

"It's so bright here, even with the glasses on, my eyes hurt." Yukiko said, whining slightly.

"I know..." Minako said, taking off her glasses for a moment to rub her eyes.

"Doesn't anyone get the joke? Okay, let's try one more time." Teddie said. "Strip...it's something zebras have..."

"Can anyone shut this bear up?" Chie asked, annoyed.

Yukiko however, looked confused. It seemed that she hadn't been paying attention to a thing Teddie had said in the past few minutes. "Huh? Zebra...? Sorry, what're we talking about?"

"I-I won't say it again...let's just hurry on..." Teddie with a downcast expression.

* * *

"There's a strong shadow just above this floor!" Teddie announced.

"I hope it's Rise, I'm getting sick of the pink and purple." Minato said, slumping slightly.

Minako gave him a sympathetic smile before rubbing his back.

When they reached the next floor, a familiar face appeared. It was Rise, or more specifically, Rise's shadow.

"It's Rise!" Yosuke exclaimed.

"But something's not right..." Chie said.

"It must be her other self." Yukiko said.

"**Hello, all you fans out there! Thanks for coming today!**" Shadow Rise said, smiling seductively. "**Especially you! You're going to see every last inch of me!**" Rise then pointed to Minato, who turned slightly pale. "**What's that? You don't believe me? Okay, okay... Then why don't we-Oh, but you won't be able to see with all this smoke, huh?**"

"For my sake, I hope the smoke stays." Minato said, grimacing slightly.

Shadow Rise continued to speak, ignoring Minato's words. "**Okie-dokie! Just follow me a little further in and I'll prove that I'm every bit as good as my word!**"

Suddenly, a bright sign appeared above shadow Rise's form. It read '**Risette EXPOSED!**'

The group sweatdropped.

"Were we like that?" Kanji asked. "That's... going kinda far..."

Then a large cheer came from an invisible crowd.

"Man, the roar of the crowd is insane this time, it's making me kinda sick." Chie said.

"If people really are watching this... We gotta do something, and fast." Yosuke said.

"I'm glad nothing like this happened to us..." Minako whispered to Minato, who nodded in agreement.

"**Alright Risetteers, don't touch that dial!**" Shadow Rise said. "**When we come back, you'll get a good, long look at the real me! Maru-Q!**"

She then ran away, into the darkness.

"W-We'd better move it! This is a thousand times worse than just hearing a few nasty secrets!" Yosuke said, panicked.

"I agree, let's get going!" Souji said before running after the Shadow with everyone following after him.

* * *

After climbing a few more floors, the group had finally made it to the top.

"There she is!" Chie shouted.

"And look! The real one is here too!"

"**Ahahahaha! They're all watching! All eyes are on me now!**" Shadow Rise giggled.

"You know, I never noticed, but your voice and Rise's sound quite similar." Minato said suddenly, making Minako furrow her brows before shrugging.

**(Fun Fact: The voice actor for Theodore of P3P is the husband of the voice actor of Rise Kujikawa and the Female Protagonist of P3P!)**

"Stop it!" Rise said.

"**Awww! What's the matter? You wanna show your stuff, don'tcha?**" Shadow Rise asked. "**How's this?"**

Shadow Rise then did a few twirls on the pole she was standing in front of.

"Please... stop this..." Rise pleaded.

Shadow Rise giggled. "**Oh? She wants me to stop, that's so funny! As if that's even close to what you're really thinking, you little skank! You're me! And obviously, I'm you!**"

"No...that's not true..." Rise said desperately.

"**Ahahaha! C'mon, look! You can't tear your eyes away!**" Shadow Rise laughed. "**This is me! This is who I really am! Not Risette, the fake celebrity! Look at the girl right in front of you! I'm sick of being some airhead cliche who chokes down everything she's fed and takes it all with a smile! 'Risette'? Who the hell is she? There's no such person in this world! I'm no one but myself! C'mon, look at me!**"

"That's not-I...!" Rise started.

Shadow Rise smiled wickedly. "**Well then, I guess it's time to prove it, I'm going to show it all off! Let my naked truth be burned into your brains!**"

"Stop! Stop it!" Rise shouted. "You're...You're...!"

The group grew alarmed at what she was about to say.

"No! Don't say it!' Chie warned, but it was fallen on deaf ears.

"You're...not me!" Rise shouted, glaring at her other self.

Shadow Rise's aura suddenly started to get stronger, before she started to manically laugh. "**Here it comes! Now I'm finally myself!**"

Shadow Rise then transformed into a large pigtailed woman that hung upside down on the pole, her skin had swirls of pink, red, and blue covering it and her face become that of a satellite dish.

"Tch... Here we go!" Kanji said.

"**I am a Shadow, the true self.**" Shadow Rise stated. "**And now, the moment you've been waiting for! It's time for me to show you every last inch of myself!**"

Shadow Rise then gave long glances at both Souji and Minato.

"**Heehee... and for our guests in the front row...**" Shadow Rise said seductively, making both boys pale and making Minako glare up at her. "**I'll give you extra special, extra- intense service!**"

Souji and Minato shivered slightly.

"Looks like she had some issues of her own after all." Yosuke said. "We have to stop her before she goes berserk!"

"**Ohh? You're going to rush the stage? What an ill-mannered guest...**" Shadow Rise said. "**Maybe you're looking for an experience that's a little more intense?!**"

Then everyone glared up at the shadow as they begun their attack.

"Ose, power slash!" Souji called out, summoning a jaguar man persona. The jaguar man gave a powerful slash attack towards Shadow Rise, who winced as the attack connected.

"Eurydice Telos! Use Ragnarok!" Minako commanded, calling out her persona. Eurydice strummed her lyre, shooting massively powerful fire to Shadow Rise, who screeched in pain from the attack.

"Orpheus Telos! Use Matarukaja!" Minato said, making everyone's attacks stronger. "Now use Rakunda!"

Now that the shadow's defence of lower, their attacks became more effective.

"Tomoe! Use Bufula!" Chie said, summing her persona and freezing parts of Rise's shadow.

After some time, Shadow Rise started to talk again.

"**What...? I dealt all that exquisite pain and you're still not satisfied? What a finicky guest!**" Rise said dissatisfied tone. "**You might as well die then!**"

A green light then surrounded each group member, as if scanning them.

"**Hahaha, no touching allowed!**" Shadow Rise teased.

Afterwards, for some reason, no matter what they did, their attacks wouldn't connect.

"**I can see everything about you...ahahaha!**" Shadow Rise laughed.

"What's the deal here? Our attacks keep missing!" Chie demanded.

"It's like it's anticipating our every move." Minato said.

"That green light must've scanned us." Minako added.

"I-I'm completely useless!" Teddie panicked, worried for his new friends.

Suddenly, the green light waved out once more.

"**Woohoo...! Analysis complete!**" Shadow Rise cheered. "**Okay, here comes my counter attack! See if you can dodge, hmm?**"

"Stop it!" Teddie demanded, glaring up a the shadow.

Right after he uttered those words, a bright flash of gold engulfed the group and knocked them back, all of them on the ground, groaning in pain.

"You gotta be kidding...!" Yosuke groaned.

"How're we supposed to win...?!" Chie asked desperately.

"A-Are we...going to die...?" Yukiko asked, scared.

"No! You guys can't die!" Teddie encouraged fiercely. "What can I do...? Sensei..."

Souji tried to think of a way to get them out of the situation, but nothing came to mind.

"There must be something...something I can do..." Teddie mumbled, fearing for his life and the lives of his friends. "Am I going to be all alone again? No! That's not what I want!"

Another green light waved out towards the group.

"Shit...It's winding up again!" Kanji exclaimed.

Minato immediately threw himself over Minako, hugging her close, protecting her with his own body.

"**Okie dokie, here we go again!**" Shadow Rise said cheerfully. "**Goodbye... forever!**"

Minako whimpered slightly as she buried her face into Minato's shoulder, clenching her eyes tightly.

"Aw shit...it's coming!" Yosuke warned.

"Get on guard!" Minato shouted.

Teddie then came out from behind the group and stood in front of them. "M-My body's moving on its own! Wh-Why and I stepping forward?! Wh-Whoaaaa! I feel like I'm going Bearserk!"

Teddie then glared determinedly at Shadow Rise. "Grrrrr! I-I'll do it! Take a good look... at Teddie's last stand!"

Teddie then started to glow golden, Minato half expected the bear to go Super Saiyan.

"**...?! This high energy reading... Is it coming from that weird thing...?!**" Shadow Rise asked.

"Teddie, the hell are you doing?!" Kanji demanded, trying to stand up.

"ROAAAAAWR!" Teddie roared, glowing brighter.

_'Super Saiyan 2?' _Minato thought.

"Teddie!" Yosuke gasped.

Teddie then charged at Shadow Rise, jumping and slamming his head into Shadow Rise's gut, making her screech in pain. The bright light that came from the impact temporarily blinded the group.

When they were able to see again, they saw that Shadow Rise reverted back to her original form, and was lying on the ground.

Minato then took the time to heal the group with Salvation from Messiah. After being healed, they ran over to Teddie, who was lying on the ground. He was now as flat as a pancake and his fur was burnt and ruined, not to mention his eyes were bulging.

"Teddie!" Kanji shouted as they made it to now flat bear. "You idiot...you coulda died..."

"Did I...? Did I help...?" Teddie asked, still worried.

"You didn't just help, you saved our lives Teddie." Minako said, smiling. "Thank you!"

"Neat...! I'm so glad... I didn't want to be alone anymore..." Teddie said, smiling slightly.

"Teddie..." Chie said, worried for the bear but was immensely touched by his words.

"Ngh...urghh..." Teddie grunted as he stood up, still flat as a pancake. He then looked down at his body, gasping and nearly losing his balance from shock. "Wh-What in the world?! Nooo... My fine, silky fur... I was so proud of it! Waahhh!"

Minato chuckled slightly. "Looks like he's going to be just fine...I guess."

The group except for Minato and Minako, who stayed with Teddie, comforting him about his fur, went to Rise.

"Don't worry Teddie, with a little care, your fur will be back to it's soft and silky self in no time." Minako said.

"Ooh...I hope so." Teddie whined. Minako leaned onto Minato, who looked at her for a moment before slipping an arm around her shoulders.

The three then listened quietly to Rise's confrontation with her shadow, with her finally accepting it and turning it into a persona.

"Her power...it's like Fuuka's...isn't it?" Minako said quietly.

"Yeah..." Minato nodded.

The two then looked at Teddie, who looked oddly distressed at Rise's words.

"There's...no real me...?" Teddie asked.

"H-Hey, Teddie..." Kanji said, suddenly worried for the bear that was acting oddly.

"No, get back!" Rise warned. "Something is coming out of him."

Minato suddenly picked up Minako bridal style and jumped away from Teddie, who's shadow suddenly appeared where they once were.

"Here we go again." Minato sighed.

* * *

After defeating Teddie's shadow, the group turned to the original.

"Was that you Teddie?" Yukiko asked.

"Even Teddie had a hidden side..." Chie said thoughtfully.

Teddie then looked at his shadow self.

"You can do it Teddie." Minako said encouragingly.

"We believe in you." Minato said with a smile and a nod.

"I...I don't know who I am..." Teddie started. "I've thought a number of times... that maybe there is no answer... But I'm here... I live here..."

"You're not alone Teddie, you have us." Souji said with his friends agreeing.

"Then... I don't have to do this all on my own...?" Teddie asked.

"Dude, we'll help you figure it out." Yosuke smiled.

"I'm sure we'll find out about you, as we continue investigating this world." Yukiko said.

Teddie then started to tear up. "Y-You guys...! I'm... I'm one lucky bear! Waaahhhh..."

Shadow Teddie then started to glow.

"Is that...?" Chie asked.

"A persona...?" Yosuke finished.

Shadow Teddie then turned into a persona.

"Is this...my persona?" Teddie asked with awe.

"I can sense strong power from it, it's awesome, Teddie." Rise smiled before collapsing to her knees.

"Whoa! Are you all right?!" Chie asked frantically. "Oh yeah, your persona just awakened too. You must be worn out."

"Yeah, let's hurry outside." Yosuke said.

* * *

"Hey Minato..." Minako murmured. The two were currently lying down in bed, just about to sleep.

"Hmm?" Minato turned to Minako with questioning eyes.

"Ever wonder what our shadow would be like?" Minako asked. "I have a feeling that if we weren't wild cards like Souji-kun, and if we didn't already have our own personas, we probably would've had to face our own shadow too. Those kinds of repressed feelings, they never truly go away, do they?"

"No, they don't." Minato said, looking at Minako before turning to face the ceiling as Minako's head rested on his chest. "But that's what makes us who we really are, that's why we strive to better ourselves. Those feelings will be there no matter what, it's how we deal with them that makes us who we are. You can either choose to run away from them, always denying them. Or you can choose to face it head on. This is how we grow, and how we're constantly growing."

Minako smiled as she fell asleep. "Good night Minato."

"Night, Minako."


	7. Chapter 6 The Murder of King Moron

Minato and Minako blinked as they saw Teddie lounging on the massage chair that Minato had bought the other day. It was then that Minako's cellphone rang. Minako headed to another room to answer it while Minato questioned Teddie.

"Teddie...what are you doing here?" Minato asked slowly.

"Well, I was really bored over there. And I decided to come over here for a change, it just never occurred to me to do it before!" Teddie said, turning up the vibration setting on the massage chair.

Minako then came running into the room, looking worried.

"Mr. Morooka has been murdered, and Souji-kun is wondering if he's been on the other side lately." Minako said.

"Murdered huh?" Minato said. "Hey Teddie, has anyone been on the other side, or were you alone as always?"

"Alone as always." Teddie answered.

"Are you sure?" Minako asked.

"Positive!" Teddie smiled.

"Well, it's true that the midnight channel was blank last night, and Teddie says he didn't sense anything so..." Minako said. "It must mean that Mr. Morooka was never on that side."

Minako and Minato's conversation was interrupted however when Teddie butt in.

"Hey, I wanna go somewhere!" Teddie said, hopping off the chair after turning it off.

"Uhh...where?" Minako asked.

"I want to give this to Rise-chan. This is for her." Teddie said before handing Minato a pair of pink glasses. "Rise-chan is probably going to back you all up from now on, so I'm going to fight alongside with you guys with everything I've got."

"Well, alright..." Minato said.

* * *

"Why did you bring him over here?" Yosuke asked, referring to Teddie as they all sat in the Junes food court.

"Actually, when we came down this morning, he was already out." Minako said. "So we just brought him here. He said that no one's been over in the TV world lately."

"You sure?" Yosuke asked.

"Yes, I'm sure!" Teddie said, annoyed.

"And he didn't show up on the midnight channel either." Chie said.

"What's up with that?" Kanji asked.

"Then he was killed over here? Why not throw him into a TV like all the rest?" Chie asked.

"I don't know." Souji shrugged.

"Yeah... Why only King Moron?" Yosuke asked.

"Maybe the culprit thought he couldn't kill any more people by throwing them into TVs." Yukiko said. "I mean, we prevented his last three attempts in a row."

"So they snuffed someone on our side this time to make sure it worked." Kanji said, growling slightly. "Dammit, if that's true, then we have no ways of preventing the murders unless we catch the killer!"

"We need more clues." Minako said. "I wonder if Rise-chan is up and around yet."

"Yeah, we'll have to put our hopes on her." Yosuke sighed.

"Ughh...It's so hot out!" Teddie whined. "I'm taking this off!"

Yosuke however, prevent him from taking his head off. "Oh no you don't! There are kids around, they'll be scarred for life if they see an empty mascot walking around. Have a little consideration, man."

"I'm glad you're back to normal though, your fur is all fuzzy again!" Yukiko smiled.

"C-Can I feel it...?" Kanji asked.

"No." Teddie said. "Actually, I'm no longer a hollow bear! Mwahahaha! I trained and trained, hoping to score with Chie-chan and Yuki-chan since Mina-chan is taken. And now I finally have an inside!"

"Yeah...good job with that." Chie said, wincing slightly.

"Come on! Can't we give it a rest with the whole 'Scoring' thing?" Yukiko demanded.

"Dude, you're hollow. Taking your head off isn't going to cool you down!" Yosuke said.

"But I just told you! I'm not hollow anymore!" Teddie frowned. "Agh...it's too hot, I can't stand it!"

Teddie then started to unzip his head. Everyone watched with baited breaths as the head finally came off, revealing a beautiful blonde boy with bright blue eyes. Sweat rolled off his form, making him glisten as he took a long drink from Chie's soda.

"Ahhh~ That's much better." The new Teddie said, smiling refreshingly with sparkles flying about.

"No way..." Chie gasped.

Teddie then turned to both Yukiko and Chie, smiling charmingly at them. "Hey Chie-chan, Yuki-chan."

"Uhh...yes?" Chie asked.

"Do you have anything to wear? I'm basically like a newborn at the moment." Teddie smiled.

"Teddie is that really you?" Minako asked with wide eyes, Minato was shocked as well.

"Uhh..." Yukiko was speechless.

"Wait, did you say you're like a newborn?" Chie asked, wide-eyed. "Th-Then don't take the bottom part off! You need some clothes, right? C'mon, let's go look around..."

Teddie then went off with the girls to shop for clothes.

The boys who were left behind however, were still shocked.

"That's... Teddie...?" Kanji gaped. "He said that he's not hollow anymore... So, like... he grew himself a body in there?"

"What kind of creature would do that?!" Yosuke asked, grimacing.

"Whatever kind of creature Teddie is...?" Souji said. "Maybe it's a side effect from him gaining a persona."

"Seems like it." Yosuke said.

"Well, it's better than him walking around in a bear suit." Minato said.

"True." Yosuke agreed. "Oh, hey, weren't we gonna see about talking to Rise? I was so shocked that I lost track of what we were talking about. Let's head over to Rise's place. As for Teddie...He's with the girls so he should be fine."

* * *

"MmmMmm!" Kanji smiled, licking his frozen treat. "It's finally the season for topsicles again!"

Yosuke looked up from the one he was eating, turning to Kanji. "Dude, how many are you going to eat? You're going to get a stomach ache."

Kanji shrugged. Minato too was enjoying his lemon topsicle, hardly being able to have any sort of frozen treats on Port Island.

The girls then came up to them, Minako instantly zipped to Minato's side and took a bite out of his topsicle, making him pout slightly. Minako giggled before going into the store to buy some topsicles for herself, giving one of them to Minato.

"Sorry we're late..." Chie said.

"How'd it take it that long to find clothes for Ted?" Yosuke asked.

Teddie then came along. He was dressed in a white suave dress shirt with an open collar and a rose on his breast pocket along with black slacks.

"Whoa...! I-Is that you, Teddie?" Yosuke asked, stunned at Teddie's new look.

"Oui, monsieur! How do I look?" Teddie asked, sparkling.

"C'est magnifique." Souji complemented.

"Ugh...don't encourage him." Chie said. "Minako-sempai was the one who chose and paid for the outfit. But I have to say, it totally blew my mind, but he's Teddie alright. This guy had to make it a huge ordeal... Everything was new to him, so it turned into a big mess. He was so excited in the women's section that he started blabbering... Hey, you can't just go around doing whatever you please when you're in this form, got it?"

Teddie nodded, sullen.

"Well he can't help it. It's his first time in our world." Yukiko said, defending Teddie.

"Alright, you don't need to get all mopey like that Teddie. I never said I won't forgive you!" Chie said.

"I'm so glad! I was worried that you didn't like me anymore." Teddie said, relieved.

"Man... if you can behave yourself, you'll be pretty cute." Chie smiled.

"Is he cute...? What do you think Kanji?" Yosuke asked, looking at Kanji meaningfully.

"Huh? What're you asking me for?" Kanji asked, confused.

"Well, I was just wondering if he was your type." Yosuke shrugged.

"Why do you always have to bring that up, Yosuke?" Souji asked, frowning slightly.

"Ohhh...I get it..." Kanji smirked. "What you're really asking is... 'Will you please beat the shit out of me, Kanji?'."

Yukiko and Minako started to giggle and laugh.

"You should." Minato said, surprising Kanji, Yosuke, and Souji. "If you keeps teasing you about it, you should stop it once and for all."

"D-Don't support him!" Yosuke panicked as he watched Kanji start to crack his knuckles. "Alright, alright! I'll stop teasing him, sheesh, it was just a joke..."

Kanji nodded before going back to eating his topsicles.

"Oh, please don't fight over me, baby." Teddie smiled.

"Shuddup! You picking a fight with me?!" Kanji snapped.

"I have Minako, so...no thanks." Minato deadpanned.

"Hahahahaha!" Yukiko laughed, Minako had already calmed down and was now starting to eat her own topsicle.

Yosuke then handed a 1000 yen bill to Kanji. "Here Kanji, get whatever ice cream you want, just share it with Teddie. Wait here until we get back."

Teddie looked amazed. "Wow, you're rich!"

"No, not really. The rich ones are Minako-sempai and Minato-sempai." Yosuke shrugged.

"I can't just take this from you." Kanji protested.

"It's fine, just think of it as a welcome back party for Teddie." Yosuke smiled. "Just don't go around making a racket."

* * *

After Minako and Minato finished their topsicles, they went ahead of Kanji and Teddie, only to see a boy who remarkably resembled Minato, introducing himself to the group.

The boy soon left however, sparing the two a glance before leaving.

"Oh! Rise-chan!" Yukiko gasped. Minako and Minato turned to look at the newcomer, who was indeed Rise. "Are you okay now?"

Rise nodded. "Are you all here to check up on me?" She looked happier as she set her eyes on both Minato and Souji.

"Yeah." Yosuke nodded.

"Oh, um... Do you guys have a moment?" Rise asked. "There's something I wanna tell you. Follow me, my grandma is taking care of the shop today."

"Huh? Sure, okay." Yosuke said.

* * *

The group headed to Tatsuhime shrine to talk. The group talked to Rise about her side of the story, unfortunately, there was no info on the killer.

"Um... so..." Rise said.

"Hmm...? What's up?" Chie asked.

"Um... I-I really appreciate what you did for me... Thank you soooo much! I love you guys!" Rise said happily, catching everyone off guard from her new cheerful demeaner.

"You don't have to thank us." Minako said. "We couldn't just let you die in there."

"Dude... She's so cute...!" Yosuke said, suddenly giddy. "Man, it's finally hitting me that you're the real deal. You really are Risette."

"Well, I know I sounded gloomy and all from stress, so... I-I thought you might not like me that way." Rise said giving glances towards Souji and Minato. However, once she caught the sight of Minato's hand holding Minako's, she focused her attention on Souji. "Do I...sound weird? Oh, but I guess it sounds more natural this way to the public. I'm sorry, I've practically lost touch with what the normal me is like."

"There's no need to apologize, just do what comes naturally." Chie smiled.

"Everyone as multiple sides to them, you don't have to decide on just one." Minako said.

"It sounds better when Minako-sempai says it." Chie said.

"Thanks." Rise said. "I'm glad you're the first people I got to know here."

"That reminds me, Teddie says that these are for you." Minato said, pulling a pair of pink glasses out of his pocket and handing them to Rise, who took it gratefully.

"Sempai, would you be struggling in that world without my help?" Rise asked. "I can help you in that world right? With my power..."

Minato nodded. "Yes, we need all the support we can get."

"Those glasses are kinda like proof that you're one of us..." Yosuke said as Souji explained the uses of the glasses.

"I see, I do remember you all wearing glasses over there." Rise nodded. "Thanks sempai, now I'm part of the team too! I'll also start attending Yasogami High tomorrow, and I don't have any friends yet, so don't ignore me okay? I do owe you my life so...you know..."

Souji nodded and smiled, making Rise blush.

_'So who's the one she's crushing on now, Souji?' _Minato thought smugly.

Then the group started to complain about the exams that were coming up, except for Rise who remained cheerful and optimistic.

"Hey!" Kanji said as he came over. "Dude, Teddie ate 5 topsicles. Though, if you count the ones I ate before, that makes six, so I still win!"

Yosuke sweatdropped. "No one asked."

"We're all done talking already!" Rise smiled before clinging to Souji's arm. "Let's go sempai!"

Rise gazed at Souji dreamily, although the latter was oblivious to the looks he was getting.

Minako smiled before clinging to Minato's arm the same way Rise was clinging to Souji's, making Minato smile slightly.

"Uhhh...when did you get so chipper?" Kanji asked.

"Do you go to Yasogami like sempai? I'll be starting school there tomorrow, so I hope we get along too!" Rise said.

"Huh? Oh... cool." Kanji said. "Umm... what grade are you in?"

"Wait, where's Teddie?" Yosuke asked.

Kanji pointed down the path. "He's over there, finishing his fifth Topsicle. So, what're we going to do with him?"

Yosuke sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Well, I guess I'll take him home."

* * *

"So, who's your new homeroom teacher?" Minako asked.

"Ughhh...Kashiwagi." Yosuke groaned.

"Even I'm disturbed by her, she keeps giving me these looks like she's going to eat me or something..." Souji muttered.

"Oh her? She's our biology teacher." Minato said. "And I know what you mean..."

"You do?" Souji asked.

Minato nodded with a shiver. Minako frowned.

"She keeps giving Minato looks, and keeps winking at him." Minako said.

"I'm not surprised Sempai, Minato is one of the most popular guys in school, if not the most popular." Yosuke said. "Actually, I heard that you two are the hottest couple, they call you the MinaxMina pair."

"MinaxMina?" Minato asked. "Makes sense I suppose, sounds like someone who's an anime fan would come up with."

"Souji here is also really popular, believe it or not." Yosuke said, patting Souji on the back.

"I'm not surprised. Souji is smart, good looking, and charming." Minako complemented, making Minato frown slightly. He hugged Minako closer to him as he glared slightly at Souji, who coughed and looked away from the blue haired senior. Minato even noticed that the silver haired junior was blushing from Minako's complement.

"Anyways, we're meeting up later at the Junes Food Court." Yosuke said.

"Got it." Minako nodded.

* * *

"So what do you guys think about King Moron's case?" Yosuke asked. "He didn't show up on the midnight channel even once."

"If this person had been inside the TV, I would've sensed it." Teddie said. "My nose isn't as sharp now, but I can tell that much."

"But they found the body on a foggy day again right?" Chie asked. "They said on the news that the crime scene was just the way it was for that announcer and Saki-sempai."

"Though, the killer could've easily just looked at the weather forecast for the days that it's going to be foggy and with a bit of strength, setting up the murder scene wouldn't be that hard." Minako said.

"I really wonder about the culprit's motives... Why was Mr. Morooka targeted?" Yukiko asked.

"Hope it wasn't personal, 'cause there's way too many people who hated King Moron's guts." Kanji said.

"But didn't you say it's people who get famous on TV who are targeted?" Rise asked. "If the killer is choosing targets by watching TV, I picture him as someone who doesn't know the victims at all."

"I would guess that's means that there's either a second, copy cat killer out there, or that the killer decided to change tactics." Minato said.

"Yeah, we should give up trying to find motives." Souji said. "There are too many people who can hold grudges against a person for no or petty reasons, even if you've never met them before.

"But with King Moron, he didn't appear on the Midnight Channel or regular TV..." Chie said before letting out a frustrated sigh. "Ugh! I don't get this at all!"

"Man, two victims alone from our school." Kanji said. "That's gotta set off the police's alarm bells. They're not gonna leave any stones unturned."

"You know to be honest, somewhere deep inside, I thought maybe King Moron was the killer..." Yosuke said, looking down at the table in front of him. "The news says that he was the second victim from Yasogami High, but we all know that's not the case. And I've heard him say more than once that so-and-so deserves to die... But now... I feel bad that I've doubted him. He was a capital-A asshole, but that doesn't justify killing him... I feel sorry for him, and not just him, the other victims as well. I can't forgive the killer no matter what!"

"Well, we'll do what we can." Minato said.

"For Mr. Morooka's sake too." Minako added.

"At this rate, you have to figure that the killer has something to do with the school, right?" Chie asked. "So why don't we split up and-"

"That won't be necessary." A familiar voice said, before it revealed himself to be Naoto Shirogane.

"You...?" Kanji went wide-eyed.

"There is no need to examine the case of Mr. Morooka any further." Naoto said.

"Wh-Why's that?" Chie asked.

"Apparently, the police have found a suspect. It would be best to let them handle the case from here." Naoto said.

"H-How do you know?" Yosuke asked, surprised and doubtful.

"I'm on this case as a special investigator, by request of the prefectural police." Naoto explained.

Yosuke stood up from his seat in shock. "What?!"

"They found a suspect...?! Who is it?!" Chie asked.

"As to his name, I haven't been informed." Naoto replied. "I do know that he's a high schooler. It isn't public knowledge yet, but he isn't a student of your high school. It seems they are quite confident that this boy is the killer. They have testimonies directly linking him with the incident. I expect it's only a matter of time before he is apprehended. Soon this case will be solved, and your town will once again be its peaceful, rustic self."

"The suspect... is a high schooler?" Yosuke asked incredulously. "All right, so why come and tell us? That's confidential info, right? Why run here and spill it?"

"Your 'game' will soon reach its end." Naoto said. "I felt that I should at least let you know that."

Minato stared coldly at the boy, making Minako touch his shoulder gently, calming him down.

"It's not a game to us." Souji said coldly.

"You don't deny, then, that you have been involved yourselves in the matter?" Naoto asked.

"What does it matter to you? You already have your suspect, don't you?" Minako asked.

"Well, no matter. I have no reason to say anything further." Naoto said.

"A game...?" Rise said angrily. "Aren't you the one who thinks of this as a game?"

Naoto looked shocked and slightly angered at that.

"I don't care if you're a special investigator or an amateur sleuth... All you're doing is solving mysteries." Rise said.

"What could you possibly know about us?" Minato asked.

"You're the one who's playing a game here!" Rise accused.

Naoto widened his eyes.

"One of the victims... she meant a lot to me. How could I possibly treat this like a game?" Yosuke demanded. "Plus... we made a promise."

Teddie looked at Yosuke with watering eyes. "Y-Y-Yosuke..."

"A game..." Naoto said thoughtfully. "That may be quite true."

"Why so understanding all of a sudden?" Souji asked.

"Oh, I get it." Yosuke said, smiling like he had won a million yen. "I was wondering why you'd be wandering around like this when the police have a suspect... What, did they get rid of you know that they have their man? Is that why you came here? You were lonely?"

"Yosuke, that was going too far!" Minako scolded, making Yosuke flinch slightly.

"It's fine." Naoto said, although it seemed that Yosuke's remark had hit a sore spot. "Detectives aren't involved with arrests. And we never harbor any special emotions regarding a case, either. Still... It is rather unfortunate that people are only attentive so long as our services are required. But then, I'm accustomed to it."

Kanji looked at the table in front of him thoughtfully.

"Much about this case was perplexing, but its solution was surprisingly simple..." Naoto said, as if she was doubting the case was really over. "Well then, I'll be going now."

Naoto then left, leaving the group slightly confused.

"What was that about...? He just said his piece and left...?" Chie asked. "He said that they have a suspect... but is this really going to solve everything?"

"Who knows..." Yosuke sighed.

"Should we call it a day?" Souji asked.

"Ah!" Minako exclaimed suddenly, making everyone turn to her in surprise. "There's a sale on bulk boxes of topsicles and soda today! I better get to it before they're sold out!"

"You need some help sempai? Heavy lifting is sort of my thing." Kanji offered.

"Thanks, help would be appreciated." Minako smiled.

"I can help too." Souji said.

"Thank you." Minako said.

* * *

"Man, you sure bought a lot, how're you going to eat and drink all of this?" Kanji asked, carrying two cases of soda and a case of topsicles.

"We'll manage, don't worry." Minako said, carrying a box of topsicles.

Once they arrived to their house, Minako thanked them and gave the two some topsicles and soda before they left. Minato and Minako then loaded the Topsicles into the freezer and left the extra soda cases beside the fridge while the rest was inside the fridge.

The two then sat down on the couch, each eating a topsicle.

"So, I bet Naoto is a girl." Minako smiled, making Minato raise a brow.

"You noticed too?" Minato asked. "His...or her voice is to feminine to be that of a boy, that and she doesn't have an adam's apple."

"True. How long do you think it'll take the group to find out?" Minako asked.

Minato shrugged, taking a bite out of his topsicle. "Who knows..."


	8. Chapter 7 Mitsuo Kubo and Void Quest

The room was quiet as Minako and Minato waited for the Midnight Channel to come on.

When it did come on, the image was extremely vivid. The screen showed a teenage boy in a yellow shirt.

"**You all think you can see me? You all think you know everything about me?**" The boy asked.

Minako shivered before cuddling into Minato's side. "This boy is so creepy!"

Minato wrapped his arm around her, kissing her forehead before turning back to the screen.

The boy suddenly chuckled. "**Then try and catch me.**"

The screen then faded to black.

"Ugh...what a creeper..." Minako said, still shivering. "It's those eyes I tell you, and the way he talks!"

Minato just shook his head. "C'mon, let's get to bed."

* * *

"Okay, so while Rise, Minato-sempai and Teddie are checking out the other side, so we'll go ahead and start the meeting." Yosuke said.

Currently, the group was at Minako's and Minato's house, all of them in the living room.

"Now about what happened last night, you guys all saw it right?" Yosuke asked.

"Ughh...don't remind me. That guy creeped me out so bad!" Minako groaned.

"Yeah, and the shit he said made my blood boil." Kanji said. "That mumbling of his and his fish-like eyes pissed me off even more."

"Well said, Kanji." Minako agreed.

"Who the hell is he?" Kanji asked.

"He was most likely the suspect Naoto-san was talking about, now that the police are on his tail, he probably went to the one place where he figured he couldn't be caught." Souji said.

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing." Yosuke said.

"You too?" Yukiko asked.

"It makes sense, though it's just a hunch." Chie said.

"He even taunted the viewers, saying 'Try and catch me'..." Yosuke said.

"We still don't know why he targeted people who were shown on TV however..." Yukiko stated. "But, if he had a personal grudge against Mr. Morooka, that explains one thing. With a strong enough motive, wouldn't he forsake the untraceable TV method and try to kill Mr. Morooka on his own? If you think about it that way, it sort of makes sense why Mr. Morooka died without appearing on TV."

Everyone looked at their soda drinks thoughtfully.

"But I wonder what that boy's going to do, now that he's in there..." Yukiko said. "With Teddie on this side, there's no way for him to get out..."

"Y-You don't think... he's gonna get desperate and end it all?" Chie asked worriedly. "He did look depressed, like it was the end of the world..."

"No, I don't think that's it." Minako said. "The killer has to know that the people he threw into the TV have come back to this side. I can see missing Yukiko-chan, or Kanji-kun. But Rise-chan, a celebrity, there's no way the killer wouldn't know that she's alive. So that means he knows that there's a way out of the TV world."

It was then that Rise came out of the TV, everyone turned to her.

"Hey, good timing! How'd it go?" Chie asked.

Rise looked downcast. "Not good, there's not enough information to go on. But at least we're positive that someone is in there."

"I see... Wait, where's Teddie and Minato-sempai?" Souji asked.

"Teddie is still looking, and Minato-sempai is keeping him company." Rise said.

"Alright, so we need to find out who that guy is..." Yosuke said. "And if he is in dace the one the police are after. Once we figure that out, we just do our thing."

"That's right! If he really is the killer, and he's escaped into the other world, the police don't have a chance of catching him." Chie said.

"So it's all on us!" Kanji smirked.

"Let's get digging!" Chie cheered.

* * *

"Minato..."

"Yes?"

"Why is there a car in the drive way?"

"I bought it. It's a Silver Jaguar XF."

**(2012 Silver Jaguar XF)**

"Is that why you insisted that we each get a driver's licence?"

"Yeah."

"So who's going to drive it?"

"We can take turns. I bought this one instead of the Audi R8 because I thought I'd be more practical. Plus, it was one of the cheaper 'cool' cars."

"Oh yeah...? How much was it?"

"4.8 Million yen."

**(Approx $60,000 US)**

"That's pretty cheap compared to all the other awesome cars." Minako commented. "And it gives us more time in the mornings."

* * *

The next day, on the way to school, Souji freaked slightly as a impressive silver car pulled up beside him. The window then rolled down, showing that Minato was driving.

"Hey, want a ride?" Minato asked.

Souji blinked before shrugging, he then opened the door and climbed into the back seat.

"Thanks Sempai, but... where did you get this car?" Souji asked as he buckled himself in.

"Minato bought it a week ago, it just arrived yesterday." Minako said. "He said that I'd be easier to move around Inaba this way."

"It's true..." Souji nodded as they drove past several gawking students and gossiping housewives. "But with a nice car like this, it's going to stick out like a sore thumb in a quiet, rural town like Inaba."

"A small price to pay I suppose." Minako said. "This way we can sleep in a little more."

Once they got to school and parked their car, a crowd of students stood nearby as they watched with baited breaths on who was driving.

The girls squealed as they watched their beloved, mysterious and handsome, Minato Arisato emerge from the drivers seat from the car along with the cool and charming transfer student, Souji Seta. Then the boys started to whisper when Minako emerged from the passenger seat, giving her looks as she walked next to Minato to get to the school with Souji tagging along beside them.

* * *

"Man sempai, your entrance this morning was awesome!" Kanji said. "The girls in my class wouldn't shut up about it."

"I know what you mean. They were like 'Minato-sempai is sooo cool~', 'Minato-sempai is sooo sexy~', 'I wish I was Minato-sempai's girlfriend, even one night with him would be fine!', and 'Minako-sempai is sooo lucky to have Minato-sempai to herself!'. Ugh...they kept going on and on about you and how lucky Minako-sempai is all morning." Yosuke sighed. "But anyways, what kind of car is that?"

"A Silver Jaguar XF." Minato answered. "I thought it'd be convenient to get around Inaba, especially when Minako goes shopping for groceries. The cool sports cars I originally wanted only had seating for two people, and it seemed kinda cramped, so I bought a 4/5 seater."

"Oh, I can see that." Yosuke nodded.

"Anyways, did you guys find anything about the killer?" Chie asked.

Souji nodded. "I asked around. His name is Mitsuo Kubo. I also have a photo of him, do you think this'll be enough Rise?"

Rise nodded happily. "Mhmm! Hopefully."

* * *

When they got inside the TV, Souji took out the photo of Mitsuo Kubo from his pocket and showed it to everyone.

"That's him all right... It's definitely the guy on the Midnight Channel!" Yosuke said. "It's settled then. He is the killer... and he's in here now!"

"This guy came to our shop before..." Rise frowned. "Was he... spying on me...? Oh my god... I really was being targeted."

"He was spying on Minako before as well." Minato said, gaining everyone's attention. "Of course, I dealt with him before he got near her."

Minako was greatly surprised, and a bit upset that her boyfriend didn't tell her anything. But she trusted Minato, and he must've had his reasons for not telling her.

"Dammit! Frickin' punk!" Kanji growled.

"Hey, I've seen him before too... Hmm..." Chie said thoughtfully before remembering. "Oh, now I remember! Yukiko, it's that one guy!"

"That one guy...?" Yukiko asked, confused.

"Back in April, remember?! He suddenly came and started hitting on you!" Chie explained.

Yosuke looked like he just remembered as well. "Oh, him! The dude who got served by Yukiko in front of the school!" Yosuke said. "Man, Chie, how'd you remember something like that?!"

"Well, that was the first time he talked to her, but I remember he was always following her around." Chie answered.

"Um... Sorry, who are we talking about?" Yukiko asked.

"The dude who came right up to you at the school gates and called you Yuki!" Yosuke explained.

Comprehension dawn on Yukiko's face. "Ohhhh... Uh... Really?"

"Wait, did he kidnap Yukiko to get back at her for rejecting him?!" Chie asked, suddenly angry.

"Ummm... I didn't really reject him..." Yukiko muttered.

"Anyways, he came up to me while I was busy working and asked, 'Don't the biker gangs bother you?'." Rise said. "And he just went on and on about how biker gangs can't do anything unless they're in a pack and stuff... He seemed to be the type who keeps talking, whether you like it or not. If that makes sense. I usually treat those people politely so they don't get offended, but I was so tired that I kinda ignored him. Was that why I was kidnapped...?"

Everyone then turned to Kanji.

"Huh...? Wait, I'm not a biker!" Kanji said frantically. "Ugh... That damn special report... So that's why I got dragged into this..."

_'But Rise came into town after Kanji was kidnapped, unless he hated bikers for a long time, the timeline would be off...' _Minako thought before Minato started speaking again.

"As for Minako and I, I just told him to back off, and that Minako would never go for a stalker like him." Minato said.

"You know, I heard he'd been saying stuff about that announcer's affair, too." Chie frowned. "Lots of muttering about how women who cheat on their husbands should be executed."

"Sounds like it's all coming together." Yosuke said with a slight smile and a nod. "Well, it's time for a showdown!"

"Rise, can you tell where Mitsuo is?" Souji asked, handing the photo over.

"I'll give it a try, just a sec..." Rise said before summoning her persona, Himiko. After a short moment, Rise nodded. "Yeah! I found him! He's that way!"

Rise then pointed in a random direction.

"Alright! Let's go!" Chie cheered. "We're so close to the killer... we can;t lose him now!"

* * *

When they came across the dungeon however, everything became digital. The sky was black and red, and above the dungeon entrance had the words '**Game Start'** and '**Continue**'.

"Seems like a place Junpei would love..." Minako whispered with Minato silently agreeing.

"It's all 8-bit, like the first video games ever created." Souji said.

"What is this? Some kind of game?" Chie asked.

Yosuke sweatdropped. "Well, he did taunt us, saying 'Try and catch me', I guess he thinks all of this is a game."

"Ohhh, this pisses me off! I hereby sentence him to a hundred kicks to the face!" Chie growled.

"Or maybe a slow castration." Minako suggested, making every guy in the vicinity, sans Teddie, cringe in fear.

"Let the games begin." Minato smirked.

"Gotta admit... All guys love games." Yosuke said with a smile.

"And all girls love Teddie!" Teddie cheered.

The group ignored him however before entering the dungeon.

* * *

"Finally, we're here." Chie sighed. She then tried to open the door, only to find out that it wouldn't budge. She then tried kicking it, but it didn't work out either. After that, she attempted to use her persona, but again, it did not work. "What's going on? Why won't this door open?"

"Hey, do you think that orb we found earlier has anything to do with it?" Minako asked.

Souji took the orb out of his pocket before pressing it to the door. The door absorbed the orb before it opened. "Nice going, Minako-sempai."

After the doors fully opened, the group ran in.

"Look! There he is!" Chie said.

Looking ahead, they saw Mitsuo along with his shadow.

"You Mitsuo?! You better be ready to pay, you bastard!" Kanji exclaimed.

"Wait Kanji, something's not right!" Yosuke said.

"Everyone get's on my nerves! That's why I did it!" Mitsuo snapped to his shadow. "What do you think of that?! Say something dammit!"

"He appears to be mentally unstable." Minato said.

"Nobody even thought of me after the first two people. That's why I went for the third one!" Mitsuo said. "I KILLED THEM!"

Shadow Mitsuo still said nothing, freaking Mitsuo out.

"Wh-What're you all quiet for...?" Mitsuo asked, panicked.

"**Because... I feel nothing...**" Shadow Mitsuo said.

"What're you talking about?! Make sense, dammit!" Mitsuo shouted, frustrated.

"What the...? Which one's the shadow?" Chie asked.

"The one that isn't talking much." Minako answered.

"**I...have nothing... I am nothing...**" Shadow Mitsuo said. "**And you...are me...**"

"What...? What's that supposed to mean?! I'm...I'm not nothing..." Mitsuo denied.

"He _is _mentally unstable." Minako agreed. "He could be a sociopath."

"No! If this keeps up...!" Yukiko protested.

Mitsuo then turned around, only to be shocked when he spotted the group. "Wh-Who are you guys?! How'd you get in here...? Dammit, who the hell are you?! What're you doing here?!"

_'How does he not recognize us, if he's the one who tried to kill us...? Unless...he's not the real killer... But that doesn't make sense, he clearly stated that he was the killer.' _Minato thought. _'But he did say earlier that no one paid attention to him after the first two killings, could it be that he's doing this...all for attention?! Either that or... he's taking the credit for someone else's crime for attention and only killed one person... Mr. Morooka, the only victim who wasn't thrown into the TV. I need more facts to go on, otherwise all I have are theories...'_

Minato's thoughts were cut off however when he heard Kanji speak.

"Shit the hell up! We came after you!" Kanji snapped.

"Are you the killer?" Chie asked, panicking slightly.

Mitsuo then started to laugh maniacally. "Ahahahahahaha! Of course I am! I'm the one behind everything!" He looked extremely pleased to be recognized, before he turned back to his shadow. "I don't give a damn what this imposter's saying! Hahaha, you hear that?! You have nothing to do with me! Get outta my sight!"

After telling off his shadow, Mitsuo turned to the group once more. "That goes for the rest of you, too... Why'd you chase me all the way here?! I'll kill you, I'll kill all of you! I can do it, you know... I can do anything!"

At his declaration, Minato stood in front of Minako protectively, brandishing out his sword while Minako pulled out her naginata.

"**So you don't accept me...**" Mitsuo's shadow said, his aura growing stronger, causing Mitsuo to collapse.

"Ugh... what the...?" Mitsuo was then knocked back and unconscious when his shadow let out it's full aura, transforming.

When the dark aura disappeared, in the place of Mitsuo's shadow, was a naked floating baby with an extremely large head.

_'His shadow must symbolize his crave for attention.' _Minako thought.

"Here we go again!" Yosuke said, pulling out his kunai.

"Get ready everyone!" Rise warned as she backed off to the give group some space. "Once we beat him, this case is as good as closed!"

The baby then created an armour around itself, looking like a 8-bit game character.

"Is that supposed to be a game character? Geez, how insulting can you get?" Yosuke demanded.

"Kintoki-douji! Matarukaja!" Teddie called out, powering up the whole team.

"Thanatos! Use Brave Blade!" Minako commanded. Thanatos appeared from a burst of light before doing as commanded, with a powerful swing of his sword, he cut the armour in half, revealing the baby inside.

"Good job, Minako-sempai! Now that the shell is gone, you can attack him directly!" Rise cheered.

"Orpheus Telos, use Ragnarok!" Minato commanded, severely burning the baby, whom of which screeched in pain.

"Ose, use Atom Smasher!" Souji said, the jaguar man persona did as told and slashed the baby as many times as he could.

The baby cried out in pain once more. The baby then used Maragion, knocking down Chie before whispering to itself. As a result, the legs of the armour shell that Thanatos had destroyed earlier, reappeared.

"That shell takes time to finish forming... Destroy it before that happens!" Rise warned.

"Take-Mikazuchi, use Zionga!" Kanji commanded, his hulk of a persona did as told and stuck the baby with lightning.

"Agilao!" Yukiko called out, burning the baby.

"Protect me, Tomoe!" Chie commanded, using Black Spot on the shadow Baby, causing it to wail in pain.

The baby whispered to itself again, rebuilding more of his shell before attacking the Minako and Minato. The two were trapped in a clear blue digital box before it exploded on them, causing some damage but not enough to bring them down.

"Eurydice Telos, use Salvation!" Minako commanded, summoning her main persona. A ethereal glow engulfed the Investigation team, healing them completely.

"Thanks, Minako!" Minato nodded, making Minako smile. "Messiah! Use God's hand!"

Messiah was then summoned and flew at the Shadow Baby with tremendous speed, coming at it with a golden glowing fist before he punched the baby right in the face before returning to Minato.

The Baby wailed before it finished it's shell. The baby then threw a digital bomb at Minato, of whom Messiah quickly grabbed and pulled out of the way before it exploded.

"Thanks Messiah." Minato said, earning a stoic nod from his persona.

"Go Kintoki-douji!" Teddie called out, casting Matarukaja on the group again once the previous one wore off, before casting Bufula on the baby's armour, barely cracking it.

"Thanatos! Use Brave Blade again!" Minako commanded, Thanatos appeared once more and did as commanded, slicing the armour in half once more. "Then use Heaven's Blade!"

Thanatos roared before slashing at the Shadow with deadly accuracy, causing the baby to fall to the ground.

"It's down! Let's do an All-Out Attack!" Souji commanded. Everyone gave nods of agreement before jumping into the fray, causing a huge smoke cloud to appear around them as they attacked the Shadow with everything they had together, defeating it.

The team then ran over to Mitsuo, crowding around him as he woke up.

"Ughh..." Mitsuo grunted.

"Finally awake huh?" Yosuke asked. "You've been a major pain in our ass."

Mitsuo looked panicked as he saw the angry faces of the Investigation team.

"What the... Wh-Who the hell are you guys?!" Mitsuo demanded, frantic.

"We came to capture you." Souji said, glaring at him.

_'He doesn't recognize us at all. There was no way he could be the killer we're looking for, unless the fog in his world has messed with his head more than we expected. But I doubt that, the last few victims, according to my own eyes and Souji's explanation, they were only fatigued and had only lost the memory on how and who kidnapped them.' _Minato thought, giving a look to Minako, who nodded as if she knew what he was thinking. Which she probably did, she had an uncanny ability to read him, a skill she learned since he wasn't much of a talker and his expression almost never changed.

"The police are after you. They think you're the one who killed King Moron and the other two." Yosuke said.

Minato's eyed widened slightly. _'That's it! Mitsuo never said anything about the kidnappings, he only mentioned the murders! From what I've seen, this guy loves attention, no matter what kind it is as long as he gets it except for embarrassment. He would've at least mentioned the kidnappings, but if he isn't our true culprit, it may explain why he didn't recognize us before, although that could attribute to the fact that the fog may be messing with his head. I need more facts. I suspect that Mitsuo here is one of the killers, but there may be another one out there...'_

"So, are you the killer?" Yosuke asked.

"All the cases... All on me... Aha... Ahahahaha! That's right, I did it!" Mitsuo laughed with an ecstatic expression.

"You piece of shit!" Kanji growled.

"And not just that bastard Morooka... That stupid announcer and the Konishi bitch too!" Mitsuo declared. "I killed all of them! It was all me!"

_'And yet again, he doesn't say anything about Yukiko's, Kanji's, Rise's, and our kidnappings and attempted murders.' _Minato thought.

After Mitsuo finished, his shadow just disappeared.

"Wh-Where did it go?" Rise asked, surprised.

"What's going on...?" Chie asked.

"At least it didn't turn into a persona." Minako said.

Mitsuo then turned around, check if his Shadow was truly gone or not. "Ha...Hahaha...It's gone... That frickin' monster disappeared... Take that, son of a bitch! Ugh!"

"H-Hey!" Kanji called out when Mitsuo collapsed to the ground.

"He's exhausted... We need to hurry and get him out of here!" Rise said.

* * *

After getting Mitsuo out of the TV, everyone was angered by his words.

"Why did you target me and the others? How did you kidnap us?" Yukiko asked. "If it was a grudge against me, that's fine, but why did you go for the others?!"

"I didn't care who I attacked, everyone pisses me off!" Mitsuo admitted with a psychotic smirk.

"He...did it all for attention?" Yosuke asked incredulously and angrily. "Why...Why she have to die because of this bastard?!"

Everyone knew he was referring to Saki Konishi.

_'Why didn't he answer Yukiko's question right away? He also answered it in a vague manner, like he didn't know what she was talking about.' _Minako thought. _'For a guy like him, I'd think he'd jump to the chance to admit his crimes for attention right away.'_

Soon, the group couldn't stand being in the same vicinity as him any longer, and handed him over to the police.

* * *

"Now I'm going to have to disinfect the area he sat on." Minako sighed.

"I'll get the disinfectant spray." Minato said, walking into the storage room to get the cleaning supplies.


	9. Chapter 8 Omelette Contest

**LEMON WARNING ALERT!**

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**LEMON WARNING**

Minako pushed Minato onto the bed, before straddling his lap and taking off his shirt.

"Nghh...What's all this for?" Minato asked as Minako's hands roamed his chest and her lip attacked his neck. "Ahh... first the sushi dinner and... mnnn... now this...?"

Minako smirked before taking off her own shirt, reveal her to be wearing a lacy orange bra.

"...What were we talking about again?" Minato asked as his eyes landed her on breasts. Minako giggled before taking off her skirt, showing a pair of matching panties.

She then unzipped his pants and slipped her hand inside, making his back arch when she proceeded to rub his half erected member. She released his erection after stroking it to full hardness before wrapping her lips around the head.

"Ahh..." Minato moaned, his hands gripping the sheets tightly as she swirled her tongue around the head before dipping it into the slit. He moaned again when Minako took him deeper before his erection was completely in her mouth.

Minako hummed as she starting sucking him slowly, her head bobbing up and down before speeding up, controlling her gag reflex from practice. One of her hands worked on his balls, massaging them gently as the other massaged the area underneath his scrotum.

Minato grunted as he started to feel a familiar sensation pooling at his lower abdomen, ready to burst.

"Minako-I...!" Minato was cut off by his own groan when he climaxed, spilling his seed into Minako's mouth, only for her to swallow it. After swallowing every last drop, she proceed to clean his softening member with her tongue, hardening him once more.

Minako then took off her bra and her panties, throwing them haphazardly onto the floor before pulling off Minato's pants and boxers, also throw them onto the floor. Once the two were completely free of all their clothes, Minako climbed on top of Minato, rubbing her damp entrance against his erection.

Minato panted as he felt Minako's core getting wetter as she continued to rub herself on him before lifting herself up and impaling herself on him, inch by agonizing inch until he was fully sheathed inside her tight, wet heat.

Minako put her hands onto his chest to steady herself before lifting herself up and impaling herself onto Minato's member. She repeated this process slowly until she gained a steady pace.

"Ah! Ah! Ah! Mnnn~!" Minako moaned as she rode him, loving the feel of Minato inside her.

"Nghh...Minako..." Minato grunted before letting his hands rest on her thighs, helping her out by thrusting upwards every time she came down on him.

After a few more thrusts, Minato flipped the two over so he was on top. In response, Minako wrapped her legs around his waist.

"Harder! Faster~!" Minako panted, clinging to him.

Minato gave a soft grunt in response, who was he to deny her? He then moved his hips faster as to her request, earning louder moans of pleasure from Minako that was music to his ears.

"Ahhhhh~!" Minako moaned as she came a few minutes later. Her contracting walls were too much for Minato, so he came shortly after with a grunt.

After a few more thrusts, Minato came to a halt and gently pulled out, collapsing to Minako's side before she cuddled into him.

**LEMON END**

"What brought all of this on?" Minato asked after they caught their breath.

"I wanted to thank you for keeping that fishy-eyed creep away from me." Minako said.

Minato chuckled as he wrapped and arm around her. "I should save you more often then..."

Minako hit Minato's chest playfully as she smiled.

* * *

"At least Adachi-san seemed happy..." Chie said.

Currently the Investigation Team was gathered at the Junes food court.

"Well, I guess this means our work is done..." Yosuke said.

"He did it all to draw attention... I can't get my head around that. It's just wrong." Chie said, frowning. "I mean, not that it would've been okay if he had a better reason..."

"I know... Don't worry." Yosuke said.

"It's finally over... Let's leave the rest to the police." Rise said, relieved.

"My world will be peaceful again now." Teddie smiled.

"Yeah, I'm happy for you." Yukiko smiled. "We really went through a lot..."

"Like scoring with guys!" Teddie said happily, making Yukiko slightly angry.

"Oh, come on...! Will you ever let it go?" Yukiko asked.

"What...? Scoring with guys?!" Kanji asked, turning to Yukiko in shock.

Yukiko panicked. "Y-You don't need to know the details. I'm sure you'd like us to forget the sauna incident too... right Kanji-kun?"

"Urgh... W-Well..." Kanji stuttered.

Rise pouted. "That's not fair... I wanted to see everyone else's too!"

"That's right, we three are the only ones who saw everyone's secret." Yosuke nodded.

Chie then smirked. "Hey, so what was Yosuke's like? C'mon, it's about time you told us."

"It was embarrassing." Souji answered, making Yosuke sweat slightly.

"C'mon, let's leave it at that!" Yosuke said, slightly panicked.

"Speaking of which, nothing really happened in your case, huh?" Yosuke asked Souji before turning to Minako and Minato. "You guys too."

"Really... wait, really? Is there something special about our sempai after all?" Rise asked, surprised.

"Sensei is da man! And Minato and Mina-chan are awesome too!" Teddie cheered, making the three slightly embarrassed.

"But now that the case is solved, we won't be calling you 'Leader' anymore, will we?" Kanji asked, somewhat displeased.

"Oh yeah... it's kinda sad." Chie frowned.

"Well, you guys could still call him that if you want to." Minako said.

Rise then had an idea. "Hey, why don't we have a celebration? We always have a wrap party after we're done shooting. It's fun, and it'll help give us some closure."

"Oooh, a party! That sounds great! Let's go all out!" Chie smiled.

"Ooh, ooh! I wanna go to Yuki-chan's house!" Teddie said. "Gorgeous dinner, hot springs, table tennis, yukata! Geisha, Fujiyama, and full wootness!"

"You're right, Yukiko-sempai's family runs a hot springs inn..." Kanji said. "A-A hot spring that... Yukiko-sempai bathes in too...?"

Yukiko blushed at this.

"Hey, keep it to yourself... You're sounding like a creep." Yosuke said, sighing.

"W-Well, it sounds like fun, but I don't think it's possible today..." Yukiko said sadly.

"Yeah, it's summer vacation. All the rooms must be occupied." Chie said.

"We can't do a sleepover...?" Teddie asked sadly.

"Maybe next time, I promise." Yukiko said, appeasing Teddie.

"Hey, why don't we hit your place instead?" Yosuke asked Souji. "Oh, but will your uncle get suspicious? Like, 'Why are you all celebrating?'."

"We could do it at our house." Minako suggested.

"Oh yeah! I forgot that you two live by yourselves." Yosuke said.

"Great! Let's head over right away!" Rise said.

"Wait, if your uncle is a detective, he might not be coming home tonight. Nanako-chan might be getting hungry." Chie said, worried.

"Hey, then why don't we make dinner together?" Yukiko asked, excited.

At this statement, Yosuke, Minako, Minato, and Souji blanched.

"Wow! Are you good at cooking sempai?" Rise asked, impressed, oblivious to her sempai's current expressions.

"W-Well... sort of?" Chie said hesitantly and unsure.

"What are you saying?" Yosuke asked, his lips curled into disgust. "Did you already forget the tragedy of the school camp out?!"

Yukiko and Chie looked taken back.

"W-We already told you that was an accident!" Chie shot back.

"She's right! We just got a couple of the ingredients wrong!" Yukiko defended.

"And you didn't cook the meat properly!" Yosuke retorted. "Guys, please don't do this, I'm begging you... I don't need another trauma to deal with...!"

"Hey, I'm a good cook too!" Rise said, cutting in. She then turned to Souji with a happy expression. "I'll make something for you, sempai!"

"Why do I have a feeling that this will all go horribly wrong?" Minato asked.

"Because it will..." Yosuke groaned.

"Tadaahhh! Teddie has a great idea!" Teddie cheered suddenly. "Let's have a cooking battle! The winner will be crowned Iron Cook Inaba!"

Everyone sweatdropped.

"A cooking battle? Now I'm even more worried..." Yosuke grimaced. "But I now one thing for sure..."

_**'Minako-sempai will win.'**_ Souji and Yosuke thought together in agreement.

"Sure...that sounds like fun." Chie said, unsure.

"Aww, but I'll win hands-down. Are you sure you wanna make it that easy?" Rise gloated, making a competitive spark appear in Minako's eye.

"Partner, Minako-sempai, listen to me. For the sake of our stomachs, you guys have to cook something too." Yosuke pleaded. "You two are our only hope!"

"Then Souji and Minako-sempai can represent the guy's team." Chie huffed. "Nanako-chan will be our judge!"

"If we have Minako-sempai and Souji here on our team, then we'll win hands down." Yosuke smirked.

"I can be a taster too!" Kanji offered.

"Me too!" Teddie agreed.

"Woo! I'm getting all fired up! Alright! Let us advance forth into the grocery section downstairs! Chaaarge!" Chie cheered.

* * *

After a short call to Nanako, the little girl decided on Omelette with fried rice for dinner.

"Fried rice omelette... An excellent choice, Nanako-chan." Yosuke grinned. "With a dish that simple, I doubt we'll get a second helping of Mystery Food X!"

A silence fell around them, making Yosuke confused.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Yosuke asked.

"N-Nothing. Alright, let's go get our ingredients." Chie said.

The girls then headed to different parts of the store.

"Uh... If they're all making the same thing, why are they splitting up into different parts of the market?" Yosuke asked nervously.

"At least Minako-sempai looks like she's choosing normal ingredients." Souji said as the boys watched her pick up a carton of eggs, chicken breasts, and a bottle of ketchup.

"Yeah, well, at least we know that hers is going to be safe." Yosuke said. "Anyways, Souji, what kind of omelette are you making? I'll get the ingredients for ya."

"Soy flavoured." Souji said after a while before listing off some ingredients for Yosuke to go and get.

Soon, everyone brought their basic ingredients to the cart, except for Minako who kept hers in a basket that Minato was holding for her.

Yosuke then spotted an odd ingredient that surprised him. "Foie gras?!"

"Quite an eye you got there, sempai. It's a must-have for my special omelette! Don't worry, I'll let you have a taste. Ooh~, or maybe I could spoon feed you." Rise said, looking pleased. "I heard last time you chocked down something so awful that words couldn't describe it..."

"It was horrible..." Yosuke said, looking up at the ceiling wistfully. The comment made Chie and Yukiko angry. "If it wasn't for Minako-sempai, we would've starved!"

"You poor dears... who would do such a horrible thing...?" Rise asked innocently.

_'She's antagonizing them on purpose...'_ Minato and Minako thought.

"R-R-Rise-san? This is the only chance you get to gloat, is that clear?" Chie asked through gritted teeth.

"...I'll crush you with one strike." Yukiko glared.

Kanji then finally came along. "Whoa... You guys look like you're ready to enter the Ultimate Frying Championship!"

Yukiko then noticed the bottle in Kanji's hands. "Kanji-kun! That's alcohol!"

"Huh...? Oh, uh... hahaha..." Kanji laughed hesitantly before rushing off to put the alcohol back.

"By the way, where's Teddie?" Chie asked.

"He's over there." Minato said, pointing to Teddie who was flirting with a food samples handling lady.

Yosuke twitched. "I'm going to knock the stuffing outta that bear!"

* * *

As the girls and Souji began to cook in Minako's large professional kitchen. In the meanwhile, Minato went with Yosuke to pick up Nanako.

* * *

"It's reeeaaady! Incoming food! Outta the way, sempai!" Rise said as she butted Yosuke out of the way to set her omelette fried rice onto the table in front of Nanako and Teddie.

Soon, all the girls and Souji except for Minako had set their own respective omelettes onto the table before gathering around.

"Bon appetit!" Rise smiled.

"Whoa, wait a sec. Asking Nanako-chan to jump in and try these for us is kinda... unethical." Yosuke said.

"D-Don't look at us like that!" Chie said. "I made sure that I cooked everything thoroughly this time!"

"Me too!" Yukiko nodded.

"Ohhh... So it's our job to taste it first, to make sure we can keep it down." Kanji said with a smirk.

"Hey! That's mean!" Rise complained.

"And yet... it's completely true." Minato said.

"Then try mine first, Yosuke-sempai! It's guaranteed delicious!" Rise said.

"You don't mind me going first? Actually, I've been looking forward to yours." Yosuke said, looking pleased. "I mean, Risette cooked it herself. Can you imagine how many guys would kill me if they found out? Well then, chow time!"

Yosuke then took a spoonful of Rise's omelette and fried rice. He then choked slightly before grimacing, swallowing the food painfully.

"Urghh! I-I... can't give this to Nanako-chan." Yosuke said hesitantly.

Rise looked oblivious to Yosuke's pained expression however. "Oooh! It's so delicious that you won't let anyone else have a bite?!"

Souji and Minato looked at each other before each trying a bite. Both if them swallowed it painfully. The two shook their head, they definitely couldn't give this to Nanako-chan. Minako softly rubbed Minato back as he drank his sweet lemon iced tea to try and get rid of the taste of Rise's omelette. It was so incredibly spicy that they couldn't taste anything at all, let alone the foie gras. Not only that, but it left a dull pain in their mouths.

Yukiko smiled and offered her omelette next. "Here, try mine next."

"I'll take this one." Kanji smiled, taking a big spoonful of it.

"K-Kanji... That's a lot..." Yosuke breathed as he watched the first year eat the omelette.

Kanji looked confused after the first bite, so he took another one, then another.

"H-Hey, say something..." Yukiko said, nervous.

"Well... Uh... How do I put this...?" Kanji asked thoughtfully. "It tastes really, um... boneless...?"

"What?! That's not a word you use to describe taste!" Yukiko said, annoyed. "Does it taste good or not?! Tell me!"

Souji and Minato also took a bite, looking confused as well. It wasn't dangerous at least, but they couldn't sense any flavours in particular... in fact, they couldn't taste anything at all. How could this be?

"Not good, that's for sure. It tastes like... Like I'm eating plain oatmeal..." Kanji said. "It's pretty impressive that you put so many ingredients into a dish and it came out tasting like nothing."

"Y-Your palate just isn't refined enough!" Yukiko defended, upset.

Nanako then took a bite out of Yukiko's omelette. "...I think it tastes good."

"Nanako-chan...!" Yukiko whispered happily.

"O-Okay... try mine next." Chie smiled. "Uhh... I dunno about this... But I think it'll taste good! This time for sure!"

"I'll give it a whirl." Teddie said before he started to eat Chie's omelette with a happy expression.

"H-How is it?" Chie asked nervously.

"Wow! This tastes awful!" Teddie smiled. "You have to try this, Yosuke!"

Minako giggled silently, Minato looked at her with amused eyes before taking in Chie's shocked face.

"Dude, not after you say that..." Yosuke sighed, before taking a bite anyways. "Ahhh... I see..."

Souji and Minato took a bite before sweatdropping, it did taste awful.

"Well, um... It's a huge improvement over the curry..." Yosuke said, trying to appease Chie.

Chie grimaced before sighing. "Yeah, thanks for the consolation... I feel sooo much better..."

Nanako then tried Chie's omelette. "I think it tastes good too."

While Chie looked happy, Souji, Minako, Minato, Yosuke, and Kanji could hear the hesitance in Nanako's voice.

Yukiko took a bite out of Chie's omelette before bursting out in laughter. "Ohhh yeah, they're right. They're totally right! It tastes awful! Ahahahahaha!"

"Then try Rise-chan's! I bet you anything that mine tastes better than hers!" Chie challenged.

Yukiko did so, before keeling over.

"S-Sempai?!" Rise called out hesitantly, completely stunned.

"Sure enough... One strike." Kanji said, wide-eyed.

"Well, Chie's and Yukiko's didn't taste good either... But at least theirs didn't cause any casualties...haha..." Yosuke said.

Rise then started to tear up. "I-It's a taste too subtle for kids! Its a mature flavour! You guys are just kids...I, I...Waaaaaaahhhhh!"

Rise started to cry before Nanako took a bite from her omelette.

"Ngh...!" Nanako looked extremely stunned and pained by the spiciness and the taste of Rise's omelette, so much in fact that she started to tear up a little bit. She then turned to Rise with a hesitant smile. "It's spicy, but it's still good."

Rise stopped crying at this before taking on a happy expression. "Hmph! I knew it! Nanako-chan is the most mature person in the room!"

Chie, who spotted the tears at the corners of Nanako's eye, gaped. "C-Crocodile tears?!"

"God blessed this child... she's too kind..." Minato whispered.

"I want one!" Minako whispered with a small squeal, making Minato wide eyed.

"Oh yeah, didn't you make one too sempai?" Kanji asked, turning to Souji.

"I forgot about that. I'll try it." Minako said, taking a bite before smiling. "It's good, good job Souji-kun."

Nanako looked extremely pleased as well before taking a bite out of Souji's omelette. "This is really good!"

Nanako looked happy as she continued o eat Souji's omelette, finishing every last bite.

"Are you full, Nanako-chan?" Chie asked.

Nanako nodded as all the dishes were put away by Minako and Minato.

"We're still starving..." Yosuke complained.

"If you're so hungry, then help yourself to an awful tasting omelette! Hmph!" Chie huffed angrily.

"Actually, you won't have to." Minato said, bring out a tray of delicious looking omelette fried rices along with Minako. "Minako had a feeling that something like this would happen, so she made one for each of you."

"Minako-sempai!" Yosuke whispered with grateful eyes. "You're an angel!"

Minako giggled before setting a place in front of everybody.

"This is amazing!" Kanji said as he shovelled the food into his mouth.

"Delicious!" Yosuke sighed happily.

"Wow, Minako-chan, you're an excellent cook!" Teddie praised.

"Again, Minako-sempai saves the day." Souji said as he happily ate his omelette.

The girls looked slightly put out, but ate the omelette anyways because it indeed tasted delicious and they couldn't find anything wrong with it.

"Don't look so down, Chie-chan, Yukiko-chan, and Rise-chan. Remember, I was an orphan since I was seven years old, I had to teach myself to cook because it was a necessity." Minako said.

Now the girls felt even worse.

"But if you guys want, I can teach give you some simple recipes with easy to follow instructions to practice at home with." Minako offered.

That cheered the girls right up.

"Thank you, sempai!" They all said before digging into their omelette with more fervour.

* * *

After everyone finished their omelettes, Yosuke suddenly stood up.

"U-Uh, now that everyone is finished eating, I have a suggestion..." He said. "You guys know about the festival they;re holding in the shopping district, right? Why don't we all go?"

"Oh, that sounds good!" Rise agreed.

"Whoa! Does that mean the girls will be wearing Yukata?!" Teddie asked, excited.

"A festival...?" Nanako whispered.

"We'll bring Nanako-chan along too." Yosuke suggested.

"I can come?" Nanako asked, excited and surprised.

"Of course you can." Souji smiled, making Nanako cheer in happiness.

"That settles it then!" Yosuke smiled.

"Festival food always tastes great for some reason, even if it ain't anything fancy." Kanji said. "We'll finally be able to get some edible food without Minako-sempai's help for once."

At this, Rise, Yukiko, and Chie looked downcast.


	10. Chapter 9 Summer Festival

Minako hummed happily to herself as she headed over to Tatsumi Textiles.

"Minako-sempai? What're you doing here?" Kanji asked, it seemed that Kanji was currently watching over the store while his mother was away.

"I needed to buy a Yukata. Can I order one to be done here?" Minako asked.

"Uhh...sure." Kanji said before leading her inside to browse the various fabrics. "Any specific colours you're looking for?"

"Hm... Orange if you don't mind." Minako said. Kanji nodded and helped her pick an orange fabric for her Yukata.

"How about this one sempai?" Kanji asked, holding up a beautiful orange cloth with a gold and white flower pattern decorating it.

"It's perfect!" Minako said, her eyes shining.

"Alright then. I-I need to take some measurements if you don't mind." Kanji stuttered.

"It's fine." Minako said with a nod. "Are you going to make this Yukata?"

Kanji looked stunned as he dropped the measuring tape. "W-What? O-Of course not! A g-guy like me doesn't sew!"

Minako blinked before smiling. "It's nothing to be ashamed about, Kanji-kun. Back in Gekkoukan, I met this boy who loved to sew, so I joined his sewing club along with Minato."

"Minato-sempai can sew?" Kanji gaped.

Minako nodded with a wide smile. "Yeah! He's pretty good. Obviously however, he wasn't as good as our friend."

"You don't mind that I can sew?" Kanji asked.

"Of course not!" Minako said, surprised.

"Alright then! Let's get started, sempai!" Kanji said, fired up.

"Okay!" Minako grinned before Kanji started to measure her, pausing every few moments to write the measurements down.

* * *

"Alright, done. Well, Sempai, this should take about a week or so to finish." Kanji said.

"Okay. I'll drop by next week then. If there are any problems or if the Yukata is done early, you can contact me." Minako said before handing her cellphone number over, making the poor boy blush. "Well, see you later!"

* * *

Minako blinked as she picked up her ringing cellphone. It had been only a couple days since she had ordered the Yukata from Tatsumi Textiles, surely it couldn't have been finished already? Her suspicions were correct when Yosuke's name showed up on the caller ID.

"I'll pause the movie." Minato said, clicking a button on the remote.

"Hello?" Minako answered.

"_Hey Sempai? Thank god you picked up! Listen, I really need some help!" _

"What do you need?" Minako asked.

"_We're really understaffed here at Junes! I need some help to cover up the shifts that the other part timers left behind when they went on vacation. I got Chie and Souji to come help too along with Teddie. But I do need a few extra hands... And I'll pay you guys extra!"_

"Hold on..." Minako said before turning to Minato. "Hey Minato, Yosuke-kun said he needs some help at Junes."

"When and how long?" Minato asked.

"When and how long, Yosuke-kun?" Minako asked.

"_Starting tomorrow for the next week."_

"A week starting tomorrow." Minako said.

"...Alright, I don't mind. It'll give us something to do." Minato said with a nod.

"Yeah, we'll help, Yosuke-kun. We have nothing better to do anyways." Minako said.

"_Thanks a bunch! I'll see you tomorrow at the Food Court." _

"Alright then, see you tomorrow." Minako said before hanging up.

* * *

Yosuke sighed as he worked in the food court along with Souji, Minako, Minato, and Teddie.

"Why are there so many people just for the hero show...?" Yosuke asked. "This is really tiring... I'd be a zombie you guys weren't here. Although..."

"Kyaaa! I want Minato-sempai to serve me!" A girl squealed.

"Me too! Me too!" Her friend agreed.

"Minato-kun! Come serve us too!" Another girl called over.

"Minako-chan! Why don't you come and stay for a while with us?"

"Minako-chan, I would like a melon soda please!"

"...I could do without sempai's fans. They do know that this isn't a restaurant right? That they actually have to go and get their food themselves?" Yosuke asked.

"Eeeek! Souji-kun, can I have some soba please?"

"Not you too!" Yosuke whined, making the other three chuckle. Teddie was busy grilling up steaks and burgers.

The group then turned to Chie, who was advertising the snow cones.

"Welcome! We've got shaved ice here, with all your favourite flavours!" Chie said, smiling. "Cheer on the heroes while enjoying a tasty snack of frosty shaved ice!"

"Man, working wouldn't be half as bad if it wasn't so hot outside." Yosuke sighed as the sun beat down on them.

* * *

When Friday, the end of the week finally came, everyone gave out a sigh of relief. Teddie, who was working behind the grill all week in the blistering heat, seemed to be slowing down.

"Hey everyone! Beat the heat with some meat! Yakiniku! Grilled steak! Pork ginger! Chow down and restore the energy the brutal summer days have taken from you!" Chie advertised. "Try our tender, delicious beef!"

Minato, Minako, Souji, and Yosuke stared at Teddie as he continued to grill meat like his life depended on it.

"Man, Teddie is really dedicated, isn't he?" Yosuke asked. "I'm melting in this short sleeved shirt, and he's wearing that huge costume. AND he's standing in front of that griddle. How does he do it...?"

"Well, his persona is an Ice type, maybe that's why he hasn't over heated yet." Minako suggested.

"Maybe... it's possible..." Souji said, contemplating the idea before nodding.

"Hey, tomorrow is the Summer Festival, remember?" Yosuke said. "We're meeting at the shrine tomorrow night."

"At least it's something to look forward too, that and our shift is nearly over." Minato said, earning relieved sighs from everybody.

A couple hours later, the sun was nearly set as Yosuke stood in front of Chie, Souji, Minako, and Minato.

"Here you guys, since you don't work here officially, my dad decided to pay you in cash." Yosuke said, handing each of them an envelope.

Chie became shocked as she pulled 40,000 yen from her envelope. "Whoa! This is a lot of money! Are you sure you got it right? It seems a bit much..."

"Nah, it's fine. I told you that we'd pay extra for your help this week." Yosuke said.

"Then thank you~! I wonder how many steaks I can buy with all of this money..." Chie said, putting the envelope into her pocket.

"Maybe you could save it for things other than steak..." Yosuke said, rolling his eyes.

* * *

Souji, Minato, Teddie, Kanji, and Yosuke gathered in front of the shrine the next day.

"Funny, I remember this festival being a lot more crowded... Is it because of the murders?" Yosuke asked.

"It's possible." Minato shrugged.

"Yeah, there ain't that many people here this year. Well, I guess you can't blame people for being scared..." Kanji said. "Haven't seen the reporters around either. They sure are good at stirring shit up then disappearing. Well, it ain't so bad to have thin crowds. What IS important right now is that we go get some ikayaki!"

**(Ikayaki is grilled squid on a stick)**

"Oooh, I wanna get some too! Kanji, what's Ikayaki?" Teddie asked.

"I'll get some too, I suppose." Minato said.

The boys walked around the food section of the festival, each of them were currently snacking on something they had bought from the stalls. Souji was eating shaved ice, Yosuke was eating some dango, and Teddie, Kanji, and Minato were eating Ikayaki. Except Minato also had a box of takoyaki and a candied apple as well.

"Man, they're late... Why were they meeting up at Yukiko's house in the first place?" Yosuke asked.

"They'll show up sooner or-" Kanji was cut off however by Teddie.

"Whoa, isn't that them?" Teddie asked.

The girls then appeared. Yukiko was wearing a purple indigo yukata with a pink obi, Chie was wearing a white and yellow yukata with a deep yellow obi, Rise was wearing a pinkish red yukata with an orange obi, Nanako was wearing a light pink yukata with a red obi and was also carrying a bag of cotton candy. Lastly, Minako came, wearing an orange yukata with white and gold flowers with a golden obi, she too was carrying a bag of cotton candy.

"Sorry we took so long." Chie said.

"It took us some time to get dressed." Yukiko said bashfully.

"You have to wrap towels inside, so they're not as breezy as everyone says." Rise said.

"It's kinda hard to walk..." Nanako admitted.

Souji smiled at his baby cousin. "You look very cute in it."

Nanako giggled happily as she blushed.

"Nana-chan, you look so cute! I'm head over heels for you!" Teddie said.

Nanako giggled even more. "Thank you."

_'Pedo-bear?' _Minako and Minato thought.

"How do we look, Sempai? Does the sight make your heart skip a beat?" Rise asked, looking directly at Souji as she did so.

"You look great, Rise." Souji said.

"Oooh, that slipped out so naturally. Perhaps... you're used to saying things like that?" Rise asked, pleased. "Well, I'm still happy to hear it."

"You two look very pretty tonight as well of course." Souji said, turning to Yukiko and Chie, who blushed. "And Minako-sempai is beautiful too."

"Thank you!" Yukiko, Chie, and Minako said together.

Minato stepped up to her and took her hand, kissing the back of it gently. "You look gorgeous tonight."

Minako blushed as she smiled. "Thank you."

Yosuke then turned to Kanji with a confused expression. "Kanji? What're you looking away for? Don't tell me you're ashamed to look! What are you, a monk?"

"Th-That ain't it!" Kanji said hastily.

Rise giggled. "Ahaha! You're so cute, Kanji."

It was then that Ryoutaro Dojima, Souji's uncle, came up to them.

"Hey... Thanks for looking after her." Dojima said. Nanako came up to her father with a cheerful expression.

"They bought me cotton candy!" Nanako said happily, holding up her jumbo bag of pink cotton candy.

"Did they now? Alright then, you wanna go over and do the target prac-I mean, game with me?" Ryoutaro asked.

"Uh-huh! Let's go!" Nanako said, happier than ever now that she'd be able to spend some quality time with her father.

"I'll take care of Nanako from here." Dojima said, looking at the group. "It's only a few times a year that this town gets charged up like this. You kids should go and have fun."

Nanako waved the group goodbye before leaving with Dojima.

"Hmm, a summer festival... Hmmmmmm..." Teddie said thoughtfully, making everyone turn to him with questioning expressions. "A couple walking together at a festival... Unused to wearing it, the girl's yukata comes loose... Summer has begun."

"What kind of tagline is that?" Chie asked.

"How does he come up with that stuff?" Minako asked, making Minato shrug.

"We gotta go two-by-two! Rawwrrr!" Teddie cheered.

"Two-by-two...?" Yukiko asked.

"See, I've been thinking. It's the summer, you're wearing yukata, and we're at a festival." Teddie said. "It's just wrong for guys and girls to walk around in a huge group like this. We should couple up while we're here! It's the natural way of things!"

"Wh-What the hell are you babbling about?!" Kanji demanded, starting to freak out.

"I'm with Teddie!" Rise agreed, making everyone turn to her with shocked expressions. "C'mon, Sempai... Why where yukata in the first place? So we can have memories we can remember fondly, right? So we should pair off right away!"

Yukiko and Chie sweatdropped.

"Rise... what a terrifying girl!" Chie whispered to Yukiko. "You got a point though.. Good memories..."

"I-I'm fine too." Yukiko agreed. "Oh, what I mean is, um... Count me in."

"Alright... Y-You guys decide how we'll split up." Chie said.

"Huh? Seriously? It's up to us?" Yosuke asked incredulously. "Alright..."

The guys then went a little further from the girls to talk things through.

Minato, however, didn't bother and just stuck to Minako's side, refusing to move.

"Three guys and three girls, what should we do...?" Yosuke wondered. "Minato-sempai is out since he's automatically paired with Minako-sempai."

"Three guys? Aren't you missing one?" Teddie frowned.

"What? Me, Souji, and Kanji makes three." Yosuke said as if it was obvious.

Teddie nearly fell over in shock. "Whaaa?! You did that on purpose!"

"Uhh... Should I really do this?" Kanji asked hesitantly.

"Oh yeah... you can barely look at 'em." Yosuke said.

"N-No way! I can look at 'em! It'll be a cinch, just you watch!" Kanji declared.

"Nah, you should bail, Kanji." Yosuke denied. "It'd be best for everyone that way."

"Wha-?! You don't believe me?!" Kanji asked incredulously.

Teddie then suddenly had an idea. "Well, I've made my decision..."

"Hey! Wait till we're done for that." Kanji snapped.

"I want Chie-chan, Yuki-chan, and Rise-chan for my partner." Teddie said. "I'd take Mina-chan too, but she's already taken..."

"That's not a decision! Dude, you're the one who said that we gotta pair off in the first place!" Yosuke said.

"Taking all three of them kinda defeats the purpose of going two-by-two..." Souji added with a sweatdrop.

"I ain't joking here, Ted! If you try and butt in on this-" Kanji said but was cut off.

"That's right, Kanji! This is serious business! And you're a true man!" Teddie said, making Kanji stunned. "A true man wouldn't be prancing around with other girls at a place like this!"

Souji, Yosuke, and Minato twitched slightly at this.

"O-Okay...?" Kanji said, confused.

"How much more can you butter him up?" Yosuke grimaced.

"Kanji! This is a test to see if you can uphold your status as a true man!" Teddie declared. "Phew... Now no one will be left out."

_'What a bunch of bull...' _Souji thought.

_'I call bullshit.' _Minato thought.

"Y-Yeah... You're right!" Kanji said. "Thanks, Teddie! You said it. Okay, count me out."

_'I can't believe he fell for that...' _Souji, Minato, and Minako thought.

_'Oh Kanji...' _Minako thought with a mental sigh.

"Dude, c'mon, don't fall for that!" Yosuke said.

Teddie then went to the girls with a big smile. "It's decided! I'm going with all of you!"

The girls blinked with confusion while Souji and Yosuke looked alarmed, they hadn't agreed to this!

"Oh, well, there were too many guys, so someone would've been left out..." Teddie said. "I just couldn't let that happen."

"WHAT?! You little-!" Yosuke started angrily.

"Haha, I see." Chie smiled.

"You're so kind, Teddie..." Yukiko said.

"We let them decide and this is what we get? Awww... What a letdown..." Rise sighed. "Oh well, let's go then."

_'I can't believe they fell for Teddie's lies...' _Souji, Minato, and Minako thought as they watched the girls walk away with Teddie.

"We fail, huh?" Yosuke asked with a sigh. "An epic fail..."

The rest of the group then heard the girl's complaints as they were escorted by Teddie.

"Hey Teddie! Why're you buying another idol's photo?! Mine's in there too!" Rise said angrily.

"Aaarrgh, what's with this?" Yosuke complained.

"H-Hey, Ted! Hands off my corn!" Chie warned.

"Teddie! You got ketchup on my Yukata!" Yukiko gasped.

"Well, you three have a good evening. Minako and I are going to have a look around." Minato said, holding Minako's hand. The two then left, walking close to each other as they shared Minato's takoyaki.

"Man, the only one of us who didn't fail was Minato-sempai." Yosuke sighed. "How he landed a babe like Minako-sempai is a mystery to me. They're complete opposites."

"Well, they do say that opposites attract." Souji shrugged.

* * *

"It's such a beautiful night." Minako said, sitting on a bench near the shrine. Minato sat next to her as he held their game prizes. Minako was a beast at the goldfish catching game while Minato was the best at the shooting and throwing games.

"Yeah..." Minato said.

"Do you think we'll succeed?" Minako asked suddenly, looking at the stars.

"No." Minato said, making Minako turn to him in shock. "I know we will."

Minako then smiled bright before leaning in to kiss Minato on the cheek. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Minato said before standing up. "So, shall we find the others?"

* * *

"Hey guys." Minako waved as she and Minato reunited with the group.

"Hey, sempai." Souji greeted.

"So, did you guys have fun?" Minako asked.

"I'm sure you and Minato-sempai did." Souji said, looking at the amount of prizes the two had won along with the goldfish that was carried in Minako's hands.

"Mhmm!" Minako nodded with a smile. "Anyways, Minato and I are headed home now. Anyone need a ride home? We have room for 3 people."

"I'd like a ride if you don't mind, Sempai." Souji said.

"Me too please." Yukiko said.

"Alright then, let's go."

* * *

After dropping the two off, Minato helped Minako put away the prizes and put the goldfish into some clear vases with fresh water until they could find a buy a tank for them.

When Minato was done putting away his half the the prizes, he saw that Minako was already curled up on the couch, nearly asleep. He smiled before lifting her up bridal style and carrying her to bed. He removed the golden obi off the yukata so it would feel more like a robe before tucking her in.

"Good night Minako." Minato said lovingly, kissing her forehead.


	11. Chapter 10 Summer Ends

"Man...summer homework sucks." Minako whined as she went through her math problems easily. "Not that it's hard or anything, but it's annoying..."

"Yeah..." Minato said, writing an essay.

"That one year we spent in America had to be the best. Only 5 days a week of school, 2 weeks of Christmas break, 2-3 months of homework-free summer vacation..." Minako said before sighing. "Lots of 3 day and 4 day weekends, and March Break!"

"Yes, but here in Japan, we have more singular holidays spread throughout the year." Minato pointed out. "And we have more field trips."

"I guess that's true." Minako sighed.

After a few more hours, Minako had finished her Math and History homework, successfully finishing her summer homework.

"Okay! Time for a topsicle!" Minako said before rushing to the freezer.

While Minako was away, Minato received a call.

"Hello?"

"_Yo, Minato-sempai! Souji says that there's going to be a watermelon party at his house. Want to come?"_

"Yeah sure, we'll be right over."

"_Sweet, see you there."_

Minato then hung up the phone. "Hey Minako, what do you say to a little watermelon?"

* * *

When the two seniors had arrived, everyone else including Nanako was already there.

"Um, Dad got a watermelon from someone, so he said we should call everyone." Nanako explained.

"Man, a watermelon!" Kanji said with awe. "'Cause of all the stuff that's gone down this summer, I completely missed out. So where is it? The fridge?"

"Gee, Kanji. They invited us over... At lease show some manners." Rise scolded.

"We gotta smack it open first!" Yosuke smiled.

"Huh? Are we seriously gonna do that? We can't eat it if it gets all crushed!" Chie said, worried.

"But, but... doesn't it sound like fun?" Yukiko asked, excited.

"I wanna do it too!" Nanako cheered.

"Sounds good, but where are we going to get a blindfold and bat?" Minako asked.

"I'll swing at it with everything I got!" Teddie said. "The splattering fruit juice! Bursts of joy! One night of love... The bitter sweetness of those days in the essence of youth!"

_'Where does he come up with this stuff?' _Souji, Minako, and Minato mentally asked.

_'The splattering fruit juice! Bursts of joy! One night of love... Why does that sound so wrong to me?' _Minato thought.

"That makes no sense at all." Yosuke sighed. "And dude, will you cut out those commercial lines of yours?!"

"That's the essence of youth!" Nanako repeated happily.

Everyone turned their heads when the door suddenly opened.

"I'm home-whoa, that's a lot of shoes. How many people are here?" Dojima asked.

"Welcome home!" Nanako smiled, running to her father. "Um, let's split the watermelon open!"

"Say what?! ...Uh, well, you see..." Dojima sighed.

The watermelon was already cut and shared with the neighbours. After everyone had a slice, Dojima sat behind his daughter.

"C'mon Nanako, don't pout. Everyone came to hang out, right?" Dojima asked, trying to calm his upset daughter. "...I'm really sorry. It never occurred to me that you'd want to do that..."

Nanako nodded sullenly before Chie caught her attention.

"Hey, Nanako-chan. Let's do it again sometime." Chie said. "Next time, we'll do it right-at the beach!"

"Seconded!" Rise said, suddenly popping into the conversation.

"Thirded!" Minako said, jumping in as well.

"Whoa... Does that mean we get to see you guys in swimsuits?!" Yosuke asked, his eyes sparkling slightly. "Oh... but there probably aren't enough days left. We'll have to do it next year..."

"Next year...?" Nanako asked, still downcast. She then turned to Souji. "Will you play with me next year too?"

"Of course we will!" Chie smiled.

"You betcha!" Kanji said.

"You betcha!" Yukiko repeated happily.

"Definitely." Minako said.

"Of course." Minato nodded.

"I promised I would!" Teddie reminded.

"Yes." Souji smiled.

Dojima looked pleased at the chorus of agreements. "Did you hear that, Nanako?"

Nanako looked bright and happy again. "Yep! Thank you!"

* * *

Soon, everyone went home to get ready for the new term that was starting the next day.

* * *

When Minako and Minato arrived at school after parking their car, they immediately headed for their friends who were gathered at the front gates.

"Morning!" Minako greeted.

"Good morning, Minako-sempai." Souji greeted back. "You too, Minato-sempai."

"Good morning." Chie smiled.

"Good morning." Yukiko greeted as well.

"Summer vacation is over already." Chie sighed.

Yosuke then came up to the group. "Yo, guys. I got lost on my way here."

"The vacation was pretty long." Yukiko agreed.

"Really? To me it seemed really short. Back in America, depending on your grade, your summer vacations would always be at least 2 months with no homework." Minako said.

"What?!" Chie gaped. "That's so lucky!"

The group became surprised however when Naoto walked up to them, wearing their school uniform along with his signature hat.

"Good morning." Naoto greeted.

"Y-You...?! You're that, uh... pint-size detective!" Yosuke said, wide-eyed.

"I beg your pardon?! My name is Naoto. Please, don't give people bizarre nicknames you make up on the spot." Naoto said with narrowed eyes.

"Yosuke, don't call him pint-sized. It's rude." Souji sighed.

"Sorry." Yosuke mumbled.

"Um... You know that this is a high school, right?" Yukiko asked, trying to be careful with her words.

"You're entering as a first year, aren't you?" Minato asked, receiving a pleased nod from Naoto in return. Everyone looked surprised at this except Minako.

"My cooperation with the police has come to an end. However, there are aspects of the case with which I remain unconvinced." Naoto said. "There are some family related issues as well, so I've decided to stay here for the present."

Naoto started to walked away after saying his piece, but turned around after a few steps.

"And I felt that I should at least introduce myself to you all." Naoto said. "I trust our relations will be cordial, Sempai."

"Sempai...? That detective boy is... our underclassman?" Chie asked, still shocked.

"It seems to be the case." Souji nodded.

* * *

"Man, school is as dull as ever." Yosuke sighed. "With the case closed, the days feel so empty all of a sudden..."

"Maybe you should join a club." Minako suggested.

"Nah..." Yosuke shook his head.

"C'mon Yosuke, everything went back to normal. It's a good thing!" Chie said.

"I didn't mean it that way. It's just..." Yosuke trailed off.

"You're just not used to having so much free time now, am I right?" Minato asked.

"Yeah, that's it." Yosuke nodded.

"Hey, we're going to Junes later right? Why don't we ask Naoto-kun to join us?" Yukiko suggested. "Oh, I just thought... Since he doesn't know anyone yet, he must feel lonely..."

"I agree." Minako said.

"Didn't he say he came here to help out with the murder case?" Yosuke asked. "With the case closed, he's just an ordinary guy now. And if you think about it, that makes him a transfer student, just like Souji, me, Minako-sempai, and Minato-sempai."

"Hello sempai!" Rise greeted with a smile as she came up to the group.

"Maybe he transferred here out of plain stubbornness?" Yosuke suggested after giving a nod of greeting to Rise. "'Cause he doesn't seem like he's only in it for fun."

Rise looked confused.

"Alright, let's see if he wants to hang out with us." Yosuke said.

"A celebrity coming to school is already a surprise, but a detective is even rarer." Chie said. "I'm a little curious to see what his family is like, too."

"There's that and the fact that he's a detective at his age." Yukiko said.

Then the group went to find Naoto, only to see that he was around the corner surrounded by a couple of girls.

"Oh, speak of the devil. There's the little guy." Yosuke said.

"You dunno the area yet, right? C'mon, we'll show you around." A conniving looking girl said.

"There's probably tons of places to hang out that only we'd know about." The girl's friend agreed.

Naoto shook his head. "That won't be necessary. I'm not interested in 'hanging out', and neither am I interested in the two of you."

"Huh?... Hey, what did you say?!" The conniving girl asked angrily.

"What's with that attitude?! We're just trying to be friendly!" The girl's friend snapped.

Yosuke winced. "Geez... way to make an impression."

Minato then walked up to Naoto, earning awed looked from the him and the two girls in front of him.

"Kyaaa! Minato-sempai~!"

"Sorry ladies, I need to borrow Naoto-san for a moment." Minato said, looking at the two girls with disinterest.

"Sure~." The conniving girl sighed dreamily.

"We'll just be going now!" The girl's friend said before walking away in a trance.

"Sup!" Kanji said as he walked up to the group.

"So we meet again. May I help you?" Naoto asked, secretly relieved that Minato had gotten rid of the girls for him.

"Hey, Naoto-kun. If you're not doing anything after school, wanna come with us?" Chie asked cheerfully.

"Come with... You mean me?" Naoto asked, surprised.

"Of course, who else here is named Naoto?" Minako asked jokingly.

"...Perhaps another time. I have some things to mull over." Naoto said, declining politely.

"Things to mull over?" Rise asked.

"I must go straight home today, I promised my Grandpa so." Naoto said.

"Grandpa?" Kanji asked himself.

"Oh well... That's that, then. Let's hang out some other time." Chie offered.

Naoto nodded before he left.

* * *

Currently, at Investigation Team was sitting at their usual table in the Junes Food Court.

"Man, did you see Naoto's attitude...?" Yosuke asked. "He sure blew his debut at school... Is he going to be okay at Yasogami?"

"He is different, but he has this... mysterious air around him that draws your attention." Yukiko said.

"Whoa, Yukiko, I never knew... You like younger guys?" Yosuke asked in a mischievous manner.

"No, that's not what I meant..." Yukiko denied.

"What she means is that, people can't help be curious about Naoto because of his mysterious, distant attitude. Take Minato for example." Minako said, pointing to her boyfriend.

Everyone looked Minato over and nodded in understanding, making him sweatdrop.

"It also helps that Naoto-kun is quite good looking." Minako said.

"Naoto-kun said he has 'things to mull over', but he's gotta be talking about the murder case." Chie said, changing the subject.

"He's some ace detective, right? I bet he's not satisfied... even though the case is closed." Yosuke said.

_'I'm not satisfied either...' _Minato and Minako thought.

Chie sighed and looked around the food court. "This place isn't out special headquarters anymore... Eh, let's talk about something else."

Yosuke thought for a moment before remembering something. "Isn't the class trip coming up soon? Um... where are we going...?"

"Tatsumi Port Island." Yukiko answered, making both Minato and Minako alarmed. "Hey, isn't that where Minato-sempai and Minako-sempai used to live?"

"Yeah." Minako nodded. "We were second years 2 years ago, attending Gekkoukan high."

"Then why are you still in high school?" Souji asked. "With your high grades, I thought you'd be in college by now."

"Oh, Minato and I got into an accident on graduation day." Minako explained. "We were in comas for 2 years until recently."

"Whoa... you were in comas?" Yosuke exclaimed. "That explains why you're a couple years older than us."

"What was the accident?" Chie asked.

"We'd rather not talk about it, it brings back bad memories." Minato answered, Chie gave an understanding nod and let the subject drop.

"I heard it's an artificial island that faces the ocean. It's a pretty big city." Yukiko said.

"You're right." Minato nodded.

"There are a lot of places to hang out." Minako said.

"Uh, actually... we may not have any time to goof off during this trip." Chie frowned. "I heard the school board is changing the trip's schedule this year. The idea is, we're going to visit a private school there. Like, to have local and urban students interact or something. It'll be all about studying and serious business... yuck."

"Ugh... They're totally missing the point of a class trip." Rise sighed.

"What kind of place is this private school?" Yosuke asked.

"It's probably Gekkoukan high, our old school." Minato said. "It was the best high school around."

"I heard it's really good. They have nice buildings and everything." Chie said.

"That's true. Gekkoukan was a great school. Cute uniforms, beautiful buildings, lovely gardens, big track field, tennis courts, a pool, and more." Minako nodded.

"But it's closed on the day we're going there, so they're going to extra mile to make this work." Chie said. "They want us to tour some factories on the second day, and then we're coming back on the third day."

"That's no different from a social studies field trip!" Yosuke complained. "Urgh... I didn't want to know that..."

"Can't expect much from a school-sponsored strip, I guess." Kanji shrugged. "Well, we'll be around, so if it starts to drag, we can ditch."

"We can show you guys around." Minako said.

"But we're in different years..." Yosuke said.

"Oh, didn't you know? They excursion will be similar the camp out. They're going to combine all years. Since student enrolment is down and they're low on funds, they've cut the excursion back once every two or three years." Yukiko explained.

"Well, at least we won't be bored with you around, sempai." Kanji said.

"Gosh, I'm trying to remember the last time I went to Port Island and I wasn't working... This'll be great!" Rise cheered.

"I wish I could be that positive about it... Doesn't this seem like a pain in the ass to anyone else?" Yosuke asked.

"Not really." Souji answered.

"Some people were against the proposition, but it's been decided. Oh, and guess whose idea it was? King Moron's." Chie said, dropping the bomb. "It's just the kind of thing he'd come up with..."

"Nooo... King Moron...! Why must you torture us from beyond the grave...?!" Yosuke whined.

"Nooo... King Moron!" Teddie copied as he joined the group.

"You don't even know who that is." Kanji said.

"Hey tell me more about this trip." Teddie said. "Where is Port Island? What's there?"

"Get back to work, will ya?" Yosuke sighed.

"Well, even though the class trip is coming up, it's still a ways away." Chie frowned. "What should I do until then?"

"Well, it's not like we got much to do here in the first place..." Kanji said. "Man is just an animal trying to figure out how to kill time through his days..."

"Huh. You made that sound like you were being philosophical..." Chie said, surprised. "Yet is made absolutely no sense."

"S-Sorry." Kanji mumbled.

"Anyways, Sempai, did you have any sort of class trip in Gekkoukan?" Souji asked.

"Uh huh, we went to Kyoto for a couple days and stayed at a resort." Minako answered.

"What? Your old school was that rich?" Yosuke gaped.

"That sounds so nice... I heard the hot springs in Kyoto are amazing." Chie said.

"It was, until some of my old friends ruined it." Minako sighed.

"What happened?" Souji asked.

"When my friends and I arrived at the hot springs, we only got to bathe for a short time before he heard some splashing noises. After searching we found out it was two of my friends/classmates who were trying to peek on us. They entered the springs not to long before the men's time was over, so that they'd be there before the women came. The reason for this was so that they couldn't take any blame if they were there when the girls started going to the hot springs." Minako said.

"Ugh... what a bunch of perverts." Chie sighed.

"What happened to them?" Yukiko asked.

"My sempai, Mitsuru-sempai, punished them by executing them." Minako smiled.

"E-Executing?" Yosuke asked wide-eyed.

"You don't want to know..." Minato said, getting a shiver down his spine from the memory.

"Was Minato-sempai there?" Rise asked curiously.

"I was, but when I realized what my friends were trying to do, I left before the men's time ended with my other friend, Akihiko-sempai." Minato said, lying through his teeth.

The girls gave pleased, approving nods at this.

"Anyways, it's getting late. We should be getting home now." Minako said.

"Yeah, see you guys later." Minato said.

The group then split up and went home.


End file.
